Microbiome And Pharmogenetics Flashcards
Environmental factors that influence the microbiome
- Food, alcohol
- Medicines
- Temperature, altitude
- Exercise
Methodological issues with studying the microbiome.
- Microbiome genetic diversity is very significant- many taxa are not common across individual humans and populations.
- Sample sizes small
- Work is very dependent on stool sampling and DNA extraction methods -meta analyses harder
- Hard to find suitable experimental set ups - at least in humans.
Paper that found environment seems more important for the Microbiome than the genetics.
- 24 pairs of 2nd-5th degree relatives with no household sharing- not similar microbiomes.
- 55 first- degree pairs with household sharing -similarity in microbiome .
- Unrelated pairs living together-similarities in microbiome.
Things that contribute to microbiome composition.
- Vertical transfer
- Environmental
- Host genetics
- Horizontal transfer
What are is the relationship between LNP and the microbiome.
- In LNP peoples, strong relationship between lactose intake and abundance of Bifidobacteria (produce B-galactosidase)
- In LP, no relationship - low levels. Competition between host and microbe.
What are is the relationship between starch digestion and the microbiome.
- People with high CN, have higher levels of Ruminococcues ferments amylase-resistant starches. (Better starch digestion, and bacterial support for further digestion)
- In Low CN individuals- they cant do this
Relationship between Parkinson’s disease and the microbiome.
- Known environmental and genetic risk factors- Can’t explain the disease risk.
- Recent studies on the microbiome have shown strong association between PD and the gut microbiome.- unknown relationship.
- Decreased SCFA -producing bacteria
- Increased abundance of Lactobacilli and Bifidobacterium, opportunistic bacteria within Cornybacteria _1, porphyrmonas
Breaks hypothesis for the relationship between the microbiome and Parkinson’s.
- Disease triggered by pathogen in gut that spreads to brain.
- Misfolded alpha-synuclein hall mark of PDF
- Found in enteric neurons early in disease - spreads to brain
- Variants in the SNCA gene associated with idiopathic PD
Commensals microbiome function
Induce protective response to prevent colonisation and invasion of pathogens.
Why do we study the microbiome
To understand the role of microbes and how they influence human health.
Define microbiome
The full collection of microbes and their genes
Define microbiota
The distinct communities of microbial taxa associated with humans.
Define mega genomics
The study of the collection of genomes within an environment or sample through DNA analysis.
Define dysbiosis
An imbalance in the microbiome, resulting in adverse effects on the host body,
Define operational taxonomic unit:
A cluster of sequences that identify a bacteria, allowing it to be classified.
How do our microbiome originate ?
- Our microbiomes are largely maternal in origin and depending on how you were delivered, you would have been exposed to different microbiomes. This is because the first microbes we are exposed to are biologically our mothers.
What factors influence the microbiome
- Age and sex
- Host genetics and Epigenetics factors
- Environmental exposure, such as pathogens
- Diets, alcohol consumption and smoking
- Lifestyle choices
- Medication usage
- Sleeping habits
- Stress levels