Identification of the microbial diversity after fecal microbiota transplantation therapy for chronic intractable constipation using 16s rRNA amplicon sequencing.

BACKGROUND

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is an effective therapeutic approach for the treatment of functional gastrointestinal disease by restoring gut microbiota; however, there is a lack of sufficient understanding regarding which microbial populations successfully colonize the recipient gut. This study characterized microbial composition and diversity in patients diagnosed with chronic constipation at 1 month and 1 year after FMT.

METHODS

We explored the microbial diversity of pre- and posttransplant stool specimens from patients using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, followed by functional analysis.

RESULTS

The results identified 22 species of microorganisms colonized in the recipients from the donors at 1 month after FMT. One-year follow-up of the patient identified the colonization of 18 species of microorganisms, resulting in identification of species in significant abundance, including Bacteroides fragilis and Hungatella hathewayi in the recipient at 1 month after FMT and Dialister succinatiphilus, Coprococcus catus, and Sutterella stercoricanis at 1 year after FMT. The majority of the colonized species belong to the phylum Firmicutes and carry genes related to polysaccharide metabolism and that enhance the energy-harvesting efficiency of the host.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that FMT is effective for the treatment of chronic constipation through the restoration and colonization of donor microbiota in the recipient gut up to 1 year after FMT.