BACKGROUND: The coexistence of hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) may largely increase the risk for cardiovascular disease. However, there is no clear consensus on the association between hypertension and the risk of diabetes. Gut microbiota plays important roles in the development of hypertension and T2DM, but whether there is difference between hypertension patients with or without T2DM has not been explored yet. METHODS: We recruited 101 hypertension patients in this study (72 patients without T2DM named HT group and 29 patients with T2DM named HT-T2DM group). Their blood samples were collected for testing clinical characteristics and fecal samples were tested for bacterial DNA using 16 S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing targeting the V3 and V4 region. The data of 40 samples were downloaded from project PRJNA815750 as health control (HC group) in this study. The community composition and structure of the microbiome, taxonomic difference, co-occurrence network and functional enrichment were analyzed by alpha/beta diversity, LEfSe, Fruchterman Reingold's algorithm and PICRUSt2 functional analysis, respectively. RESULTS: Alpha and beta diversity analysis showed significant differences in microbial community richness and composition among the three groups. The HC group had a significantly higher Simpson index and a distinct microbiota community compared to the HT and HT-T2DM groups, as demonstrated by significant differences in unweighted and weighted UniFrac distances. The LEfSe analysis identified specific taxa that had significantly different abundance among the groups, such as Bacteroides uniformis, Blautia wexlerae, Alistipes putredinis, and Prevotella stercorea in the HC group, Prevotella copri and Phascolarctobacterium faecium in the HT group, and Klebsiella pneumoniae in the HT-T2DM group. Co-occurrence network analysis indicates that Prevotella copri, Mediterraneibacter gnavus, Alistipes onderdonkii and some unidentified species act as key nodes in the network. Differentially functional pathway identified by PICRUSt2 were concentrated in nutrition and energy metabolism, as well as the biosynthesis of other secondary metabolites. CONCLUSIONS: Our study found significant differences in microbial community richness, composition, and function among the healthy controls, hypertension patients with and without T2DM. Some specific taxa may explain this difference and serve as potential therapeutic targets for hypertension, T2DM, and their coexistence.

BACKGROUND: Anaerobic fungi are effective fibre-degrading microorganisms in the digestive tract of horses. However, our understanding of their diversity and community structure is limited, especially in different parts of the gastrointestinal tract. RESULTS: For the first time, high-throughput sequencing technology was used to analyse and predict fungal microbial diversity in different parts of the gastrointestinal tract of Mongolian horses. The results revealed that the richness and diversity of fungi in the hindgut of Mongolian horses were much higher than those in the foregut. The foregut was dominated by Basidiomycota and Ascomycota, whereas the hindgut was dominated by Neocallimastigomycota and Basidiomycota. At the genus level, the relative abundance of many pathogenic fungi (Cryptococcus, Cladosporium, Alternaria, and Sarocladium) in the foregut was significantly higher than that in the posterior gut, indicating that Mongolian horses have strong disease resistance. The prediction of fungal function also showed significant differences in the fungal flora between the foregut and the hindgut. The fungi in Mongolian horses' foreguts were mainly pathologically nutritive and contained many animal and plant pathogens, particularly in the small intestine (jejunum and ileum). This indicates that the foregut may be the most important immune site in the digestive system of Mongolian horses, which explains the high disease resistance of Mongolian horses. The number of unassigned functional groups in the posterior gut was significantly higher than that in the anterior gut, indicating that the functions of fungal groups in the posterior gut have not been fully explored, and further studies are required in the future. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of high-throughput sequencing results revealed that the fungal composition varied greatly among different gastrointestinal tract segments in Mongolian horses, whose hindgut contains many anaerobic fungi involved in plant cellulose degradation. This provides important basic data for studying fungal diversity in the digestive system of healthy horses, which can be used for the health assessment of horses and provides clues for further research on the disease resistance and digestive capacity of horses, as well as a reference for the early diagnosis of intestinal diseases and innovative treatment methods.

BACKGROUND: Over the past two decades, Corynebacterium striatum has been increasingly isolated from clinical cultures with most isolates showing increased antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to last resort agents. Advances in the field of pan genomics would facilitate the understanding of the clinical significance of such bacterial species previously thought to be among commensals paving the way for identifying new drug targets and control strategies. METHODS: We constructed a pan-genome using 310 genome sequences of C. striatum. Pan-genome analysis was performed using three tools including Roary, PIRATE, and PEPPAN. AMR genes and virulence factors have been studied in relation to core genome phylogeny. Genomic Islands (GIs), Integrons, and Prophage regions have been explored in detail. RESULTS: The pan-genome ranges between a total of 5253-5857 genes with 2070 - 1899 core gene clusters. Some antimicrobial resistance genes have been identified in the core genome portion, but most of them were located in the dispensable genome. In addition, some well-known virulence factors described in pathogenic Corynebacterium species were located in the dispensable genome. A total of 115 phage species have been identified with only 44 intact prophage regions. CONCLUSION: This study presents a detailed comparative pangenome report of C. striatum. The species show a very slowly growing pangenome with relatively high number of genes in the core genome contributing to lower genomic variation. Prophage elements carrying AMR and virulence elements appear to be infrequent in the species. GIs appear to offer a prominent role in mobilizing antibiotic resistance genes in the species and integrons occur at a frequency of 50% in the species. Control strategies should be directed against virulence and resistance determinants carried on the core genome and those frequently occurring in the accessory genome.

BACKGROUND: Farnesol is a Candida-secreted quorum-sensing molecule of great interest as a potential antifungal agent for serious and hardly curable infections-candidiasis, especially vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC). METHODS: The effect of farnesol on cellular morphology and viability and evaluated the production of Th1 (IL-2), Th2 (IL-4), proinflammatory (IL-6), chemotactic (IL-8), and Th17 (IL-17) cytokines in the culture supernatants of vaginal epithelial cell line (VK2) were evaluated. Moreover, we tested the inhibitory effect of farnesol on C. albicans adhesion. Scanning electron microscopy was conducted to observe any VK2 cell ultrastructural changes. RESULTS: Only low concentrations (≤ 50 µmol/L) of farnesol did not affect the morphology and viability of the VK2 cells (P > 0.05). Farnesol reduced the adhesion of C. albicans to the VK2 cells. When treated with farnesol, statistical elevated levels of both IL-4 and IL-17 secreted by the infected VK2 cells were present in the culture supernatants (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Farnesol acts as a stimulator to up-regulate the Th17-type innate immune response, as well as Th2-type humoral immunity following C. albicans infection. Further research is required to select the optimal therapeutic dose to develop efficacious and safe mucosal immune adjuvant for treating VVCs.

BACKGROUND: Rapeseed cake is an important agricultural waste. After enzymatic fermentation, rapeseed cake not only has specific microbial diversity but also contains a lot of fatty acids, organic acids, amino acids and their derivatives, which has potential value as a high-quality organic fertilizer. However, the effects of fermented rapeseed cake on tea rhizosphere microorganisms and soil metabolites have not been reported. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the effect of enzymatic rapeseed cake fertilizer on the soil of tea tree, and to reveal the correlation between rhizosphere soil microorganisms and nutrients/metabolites. RESULTS: The results showed that: (1) The application of enzymatic rapeseed cake increased the contents of soil organic matter (OM), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), available nitrogen (AN), and available phosphorus (AP); increased the activities of soil urease (S-UE), soil catalase (S-CAT), soil acid phosphatase (S-ACP) and soil sucrase (S-SC); (2) The application of enzymatic rapeseed cake increased the relative abundance of beneficial rhizosphere microorganisms such as Chaetomium, Inocybe, Pseudoxanthomonas, Pseudomonas, Sphingomonas, and Stenotrophomonas; (3) The application of enzymatic rapeseed cake increased the contents of sugar, organic acid, and fatty acid in soil, and the key metabolic pathways were concentrated in sugar and fatty acid metabolisms; (4) The application of enzymatic rapeseed cake promoted the metabolism of sugar, organic acid, and fatty acid in soil by key rhizosphere microorganisms; enzymes and microorganisms jointly regulated the metabolic pathways of sugar and fatty acids in soil. CONCLUSIONS: Enzymatic rapeseed cake fertilizer improved the nutrient status and microbial structure of tea rhizosphere soil, which was beneficial for enhancing soil productivity in tea plantations. These findings provide new insights into the use of enzymatic rapeseed cake as an efficient organic fertilizer and expand its potential for application in tea plantations.

Captive pandas are suffering from intestinal infection due to intestinal microbiota characterized by a high abundance of Enterobacteriaceae induced by long-term captivity. Probiotic supplements showed improvement in intestinal barrier function and inflammation. However, the effects of panda-derived probiotics on the intestinal epithelium and inflammation have not been elucidated. In the present study, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) impaired Caco-2 and RAW264.7 inflammatory models were applied to assess the protection of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum BSG201683 (L. plantarum G83) on barrier disruption and inflammation. The results showed that treatment with L. plantarum G83 significantly decreased the paracellular permeability to fluorescein isothiocyanate conjugated dextran (MW 4000, FITC-D4) after LPS induction. Meanwhile, L. plantarum G83 alleviated the reduction in tight junction (TJ) proteins and downregulated proinflammatory cytokines caused by LPS in Caco-2 cells. L. plantarum G83 also significantly decreased the expression and secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells. In addition, the IL-10 increased in both Caco-2 and RAW264.7 cells after L. plantarum G83 treatment. The phagocytosis activity of RAW264.7 cells was significantly increased after L. plantarum G83 treatment. Toll-like receptor 4/ nuclear factor kappa-B (TLR4/NF-κB) signaling pathways were significantly down-regulated after L. plantarum G83 intervention, and the phosphorylation of NF-κB/p65 was consistent with this result. Our findings suggest that L. plantarum G83 improves intestinal inflammation and epithelial barrier disruption in vitro.

BACKGROUND: Sustainable aquaculture relies on multiple factors, including water quality, fish diets, and farmed fish. Replacing fishmeal (FM) with alternative protein sources is key for improving sustainability in aquaculture and promoting fish health. Indeed, great research efforts have been made to evaluate novel feed formulations, focusing especially on the effects on the fish gut microbiome. Few studies have explored host-environment interactions. In the present study, we evaluated the influence of novel insect-based (Tenebrio molitor) fish diets on the microbiome at the water-fish interface in an engineered rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) farming ecosystem. Using 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding, we comprehensively analyzed the microbiomes of water, tank biofilm, fish intestinal mucus, fish cutis, and feed samples. RESULTS: Core microbiome analysis revealed the presence of a highly reduced core shared by all sample sources, constituted by Aeromonas spp., in both the control and novel feed test groups. Network analysis showed that samples were clustered based on the sample source, with no significant differences related to the feed formulation tested. Thus, the different diets did not seem to affect the environment (water and tank biofilm) and fish (cutis and intestinal mucus) microbiomes. To disentangle the contribution of feed at a finer scale, we performed a differential abundance analysis and observed differential enrichment/impoverishment in specific taxa, comparing the samples belonging to the control diet group and the insect-based diet group. CONCLUSIONS: Omic exploration of the water-fish interface exposes patterns that are otherwise undetected. These data demonstrate a link between the environment and fish and show that subtle but significant differences are caused by feed composition. Thus, the research presented here is a step towards positively influencing the aquaculture environment and its microbiome.

Bacteria abundance alternation in the feces or mucosa of Crohn's disease (CD) patients has long been applied to identify potential biomarkers for this disease, while the taxa occurrence frequency and their correlations with clinical traits were understudied. A total of 97 samples from the feces and gut mucosa were collected from CD patients and healthy controls (HCs), 16S rRNA-based analyses were performed to determine the changes in taxa abundance and occurrence frequency along CD and to correlate them with clinical traits. The results showed that bacteria communities were divergent between feces and mucosa, while the taxa abundance and occurrence frequency in both partitions showed similar exponential correlations. The decrease of specific fecal bacteria was much more effective in classifying the CD and HCs than that of the mucosal bacteria. Among them, Christensenellaceae_R-7_group and Ruminococcus were predicted as biomarkers by using random forest algorithm, which were persistently presented (> 71.40% in frequency) in the feces of the HCs with high abundance, whereas transiently presented in the feces (< 5.5% in frequency) and mucosa (< 18.18% in frequency) of CD patients with low abundance. Co-occurrence network analysis then identified them as hub taxa that drive the alternations of other bacteria and were positively correlated to the circuiting monocytes. The loss of specific bacteria in the healthy gut may cause great disturbance of gut microbiota, causing gut bacteria dysbiosis and correlated to immune disorders along CD, which might not only be developed as effective noninvasive biomarkers but also as therapy targets.

BACKGROUND: Zoonotic diseases pose a significant threat to public health. Chlamydia, as an intracellular pathogen, can colonize the intestinal tract of humans and animals, changing the gut microbiota. However, only a few studies have evaluated alterations in the gut microbiota of horses infected with Chlamydia. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate gut microbiota and serum biochemical indicators in horses with Chlamydial infection (IG) and healthy horses (HG). Fecal and blood samples were collected from 16 horses (IG: 10; HG: 6) before morning feeding for the determination of gut microbiota and serum biochemical parameters. RESULTS: The results showed that total globulin (GLB), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and creatine kinase (CK) levels were significantly increased in IG compared with HG. Notably, the gut microbial diversity increased in IG compared with HG. Furthermore, Moraxellaceae and Akkermanisa abundance decreased in IG, while Streptococcus, Treponema, Prevotella, and Paraprevotella abundances (13 genera of bacterial species) increased. Compared with HG, carbohydrate metabolism increased in IG while amino acid metabolism decreased. In addition, the abundance of 18 genera of bacteria was associated with the level of five serum biochemical indicators. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, this study elucidated the influence of Chlamydia infection in horses on the gut microbiota, unraveling consequential alterations in its composition and metabolic profile. Therefore, this study improves the understanding of Chlamydia-induced intestinal infections.

BACKGROUND: Antibiotic-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae has emerged as a critical public health threat worldwide. Understanding the antimicrobial resistance mechanisms of multidrug-resistant K. pneumoniae (MDR-Kp) and its prevalence in time and space would provide clinical significance for managing pathogen infection. METHODS: Eighteen clinical MDR-Kp strains were analyzed by whole genome sequencing (WGS), and the antimicrobial resistance genes and associated resistance mechanisms were compared with results obtained from the conventional microbiological test (CMT). The sequence homology across strains in our study and those previously collected over time from a wide geographical region was assessed by phylogenetic analysis. RESULTS: MDR-Kp strains were collected from eighteen patients who had received empirical treatment before strain collection, with sputum (83.3%, 15/18) being the primary source of clinical samples. The commonly received treatments include β-lactamase inhibitors (55.6%, 10/18) and carbapenems (50%, 9/18). Using CMT, we found that all 18 strains were resistant to aztreonam and ciprofloxacin, while 14 (77.8%) showed resistance to carbapenem. Polymyxin B and tigecycline were the only antibiotics to which MDR-Kp strains were sensitive. A total of 42 antimicrobial resistance mechanisms were identified by WGS, surpassing the 40 detected by the conventional method, with 25 mechanisms shared between the two techniques. Despite a 100% accuracy rate of WGS in detecting penicillin-resistant strains, the accuracy in detecting cephalosporin-resistant strains was only at 60%. Among all resistance genes identified by WGS, Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase-2 (KPC-2) was present in all 14 carbapenem-resistant strains. Phenotypic analysis indicated that sequence type (ST) 11 isolates were the primary cause of these MDR-Kp infections. Additionally, phylogenic clustering analysis, encompassing both the clinical and MDR-Kp strains previously reported in China, revealed four distinct subgroups. No significant difference was observed in the sequence homology between K. pneumoniae strains in our study and those previously collected in East China over time. CONCLUSION: The application of WGS in identifying potential antimicrobial-resistant genes of MDR-Kp has demonstrated promising clinical significance. Comprehensive genomic information revealed by WGS holds the promise of guiding treatment decisions, enabling surveillance, and serving as a crucial asset in understanding antibiotic resistance.