Early-life gut mycobiome core species modulate metabolic health in mice
Abstract The gut microbiome causally contributes to obesity; however, the role of fungi remains understudied. We previously identified three core species of the infant gut mycobiome (Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, Malassezia restricta and Candida albicans) that correlated with body mass index, however th...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56743-8 |
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| author | Mackenzie W. Gutierrez Erik van Tilburg Bernardes Ellen Ren Kristen N. Kalbfleisch Madeline Day Ewandson Luiz Lameu Thaís Glatthardt Emily M. Mercer Sunita Sharma Hong Zhang Ali Al-Azawy Faye Chleilat Simon A. Hirota Raylene A. Reimer Marie-Claire Arrieta |
| author_facet | Mackenzie W. Gutierrez Erik van Tilburg Bernardes Ellen Ren Kristen N. Kalbfleisch Madeline Day Ewandson Luiz Lameu Thaís Glatthardt Emily M. Mercer Sunita Sharma Hong Zhang Ali Al-Azawy Faye Chleilat Simon A. Hirota Raylene A. Reimer Marie-Claire Arrieta |
| author_sort | Mackenzie W. Gutierrez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The gut microbiome causally contributes to obesity; however, the role of fungi remains understudied. We previously identified three core species of the infant gut mycobiome (Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, Malassezia restricta and Candida albicans) that correlated with body mass index, however their causal contributions to obesity development are unknown. Here we show the effects of early-life colonization by these fungal species on metabolic health in gnotobiotic mice fed standard (SD) or high-fat-high-sucrose (HFHS) diets. Each species resulted in bacterial microbiome compositional and functional differences. R. mucilaginosa and M. restricta increased adiposity in mice fed SD, while only R. mucilaginosa exacerbated metabolic disease. In contrast, C. albicans resulted in leanness and resistance to diet-induced obesity. Intestinal nutrient transporter expression was unaffected by the presence of fungi in jejunal enteroids, yet the immune landscape in white adipose tissue was distinctly impacted by each fungal species, suggesting that these phenotypes may be a result of fungal immune regulation. This work revealed that three common fungal colonizers have distinct causal influences on obesity and metabolic inflammation and justifies the consideration of fungi in microbiome research on host metabolism. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4e9491be2b1b49d386965e929b352356 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-4e9491be2b1b49d386965e929b3523562025-02-09T12:46:31ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-02-0116111710.1038/s41467-025-56743-8Early-life gut mycobiome core species modulate metabolic health in miceMackenzie W. Gutierrez0Erik van Tilburg Bernardes1Ellen Ren2Kristen N. Kalbfleisch3Madeline Day4Ewandson Luiz Lameu5Thaís Glatthardt6Emily M. Mercer7Sunita Sharma8Hong Zhang9Ali Al-Azawy10Faye Chleilat11Simon A. Hirota12Raylene A. Reimer13Marie-Claire Arrieta14Department of Pediatrics, University of CalgaryDepartment of Pediatrics, University of CalgaryDepartment of Pediatrics, University of CalgaryDepartment of Pediatrics, University of CalgaryDepartment of Pediatrics, University of CalgaryInternational Microbiome Centre, Snyder Institute, University of CalgaryDepartment of Pediatrics, University of CalgaryDepartment of Pediatrics, University of CalgaryDepartment of Pediatrics, University of CalgaryDepartment of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of CalgaryDepartment of Pediatrics, University of CalgaryDepartment of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of CalgaryDepartment of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of CalgaryInternational Microbiome Centre, Snyder Institute, University of CalgaryDepartment of Pediatrics, University of CalgaryAbstract The gut microbiome causally contributes to obesity; however, the role of fungi remains understudied. We previously identified three core species of the infant gut mycobiome (Rhodotorula mucilaginosa, Malassezia restricta and Candida albicans) that correlated with body mass index, however their causal contributions to obesity development are unknown. Here we show the effects of early-life colonization by these fungal species on metabolic health in gnotobiotic mice fed standard (SD) or high-fat-high-sucrose (HFHS) diets. Each species resulted in bacterial microbiome compositional and functional differences. R. mucilaginosa and M. restricta increased adiposity in mice fed SD, while only R. mucilaginosa exacerbated metabolic disease. In contrast, C. albicans resulted in leanness and resistance to diet-induced obesity. Intestinal nutrient transporter expression was unaffected by the presence of fungi in jejunal enteroids, yet the immune landscape in white adipose tissue was distinctly impacted by each fungal species, suggesting that these phenotypes may be a result of fungal immune regulation. This work revealed that three common fungal colonizers have distinct causal influences on obesity and metabolic inflammation and justifies the consideration of fungi in microbiome research on host metabolism.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56743-8 |
| spellingShingle | Mackenzie W. Gutierrez Erik van Tilburg Bernardes Ellen Ren Kristen N. Kalbfleisch Madeline Day Ewandson Luiz Lameu Thaís Glatthardt Emily M. Mercer Sunita Sharma Hong Zhang Ali Al-Azawy Faye Chleilat Simon A. Hirota Raylene A. Reimer Marie-Claire Arrieta Early-life gut mycobiome core species modulate metabolic health in mice Nature Communications |
| title | Early-life gut mycobiome core species modulate metabolic health in mice |
| title_full | Early-life gut mycobiome core species modulate metabolic health in mice |
| title_fullStr | Early-life gut mycobiome core species modulate metabolic health in mice |
| title_full_unstemmed | Early-life gut mycobiome core species modulate metabolic health in mice |
| title_short | Early-life gut mycobiome core species modulate metabolic health in mice |
| title_sort | early life gut mycobiome core species modulate metabolic health in mice |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56743-8 |
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