Department of Endocrinology, Fuzhou Children's Hospital of Fujian Medical University, NO. 145, 817 Middle Road, Fuzhou, 350005, China.
Microb Cell Fact. 2020 Jul 28;19(1):152. doi: 10.1186/s12934-020-01412-2.
Accumulating evidence infer that gut microbiome-host relations are key mediators or modulators driving the observed sexual dimorphism in some disease onset and progression. To date, the sex-differences of gut microbiota at different pubertal status have not been reported.
To determine the characteristics of gut microbiota of both genders at different pubertal status.
Gut microbiota was analyzed in 89 Chinese participants aged 5-15 years. Participants were divided into pre-puberty and puberty groups for both male and female. The composition of gut microbiota was investigated by 16S rRNA-based metagenomics. Ecological representations of microbial communities were computed. The prediction of metagenomic functional content from 16S rRNA gene surveys was conducted.
There were 49 males (9.76 ± 2.15 years) and 40 females (9.74 ± 1.63 years); 21 males and 26 females were at puberty. At genus level, Alistipes, Megamonas, Oscillospira and Parabacteroides were more prevalent in girls than in boys (p < 0.05). There were no significantly differences of alpha-diversity between genders, which was independent of pubertal status. The beta-diversity was significantly different in pubertal subjects between genders. Using statistical analyses, we assigned genera Dorea, Megamonas, Bilophila, Parabacteroides and Phascolarctobacterium as microbial markers for pubertal subjects. The predicted metabolic profiles differ in both pubertal and pre-pubertal groups between genders.
This cross-sectional study revealed that sex differences in the gut microbiota composition and predicted metabolic profiles exist before puberty, which become more significant at puberty. The identification of novel puberty bacterial markers may disclose a potential effects of gender-related microbiota profiles on puberty onset.
越来越多的证据表明，肠道微生物组与宿主的关系是驱动某些疾病发病和进展中观察到的性别二态性的关键介质或调节剂。迄今为止，不同青春期状态下肠道微生物组的性别差异尚未报道。
确定不同青春期状态下两性肠道微生物组的特征。
分析了 89 名年龄在 5-15 岁的中国参与者的肠道微生物组。将参与者分为男性和女性的青春期前和青春期组。通过 16S rRNA 为基础的宏基因组学分析肠道微生物组的组成。计算微生物群落的生态表现。对 16S rRNA 基因调查的宏基因组功能含量进行预测。
有 49 名男性（9.76±2.15 岁）和 40 名女性（9.74±1.63 岁）；21 名男性和 26 名女性处于青春期。在属水平上，Alistipes、Megamonas、Oscillospira 和 Parabacteroides 在女孩中比男孩更普遍（p<0.05）。性别之间的 alpha 多样性没有显著差异，与青春期状态无关。青春期组中性别之间的 beta 多样性存在显著差异。通过统计分析，我们将属 Dorea、Megamonas、Bilophila、Parabacteroides 和 Phascolarctobacterium 分配为青春期组的微生物标志物。在青春期和青春期前组中，性别之间的预测代谢特征存在差异。
这项横断面研究表明，青春期前肠道微生物组组成和预测代谢特征存在性别差异，青春期时这些差异更为显著。新型青春期细菌标志物的鉴定可能揭示了与性别相关的微生物组特征对青春期开始的潜在影响。
