Microbiome and Nutrition
The complex community of bacteria, yeasts and viruses living in our intestines, collectively known as the gut microbiome, is shaped, in part, by what we eat. Genetics, environment, and other factors also influence an individual’s microbial community. Research at the NRI investigates these complex relationships and their impact on disease risk. We use animal models and bioinformatics to study the associations between nutritional metabolites, gut microbiome, and health. What happens in the gut doesn’t stay in the gut. Your microbiome can play a role in cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes, and even cancer. Our team envisions a future where analysis of your microbiome can determine disease risk, and medical foods can be prescribed to treat and prevent disease by regulating the microbiome.
Publications
Microbiome and Nutrition Publications
2020
Population studies of TMAO and its precursors may help elucidate mechanisms. Meyer K
2019
Association of dietary patterns with the gut microbiota in older, community-dwelling men. Meyer K
2018
Meta-analysis of human genome-microbiome association studies: the MiBioGen consortium initiative. Meyer K
Human microbiota, blood group antigens, and disease. Sumner S
2017
Trimethylamine N-Oxide, the Microbiome, and Heart and Kidney Disease. Zeisel S
2016
Diet and Gut Microbial Function in Metabolic and Cardiovascular Disease Risk. Meyer K
Antibiotic-mediated gut microbiome perturbation accelerates development of type 1 diabetes in mice. Sumner S
Related News
Choline.
Evidence for negative selection of gene variants that increase dependence on dietary choline in a Gambian cohort.
Identification of new genetic polymorphisms that alter the dietary requirement for choline and vary in their distribution across ethnic and racial groups.
Genetic Signatures in Choline and 1-Carbon Metabolism
Corbin, K. D., Abdelmalek, M. F., Spencer, M. D., da Costa, K. A., Galanko, J. A., Sha, W., Suzuki, A., Guy, C. D., Cardona, D. M., Torquati, A., Diehl, A. M., and Zeisel, S. H. (2013) Genetic signatures in choline and 1-carbon metabolism are associated with the severity of hepatic steatosis. FASEB J 27, 1674-1689
Aberrant estrogen regulation of PEMT results in choline deficiency-associated liver dysfunction.
Dietary Choline Requirements of Women Effects of Estrogen and Genetic Variation
Fischer, L.M., da Costa, K-A, Kwock, L., Galanko, J., Zeisel, S.H. (2010) Dietary choline requirements of women: effects of estrogen and genetic variation. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 92(5):1113-19. PMCID: PMC2954445.