Lv Jin, Qi Ping, Yan Xiangdong, Bai Liuhui, Zhang Lei
The First Clinical Medical College, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
Department of General Surgery, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
Microorganisms. 2023 Oct 28;11(11):2655. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms11112655.
Residents of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau might experience shifts in their gut microbiota composition as a result of the plateau environment. For example, high altitudes can increase the abundance of obligate anaerobic bacteria, decrease the number of aerobic bacteria and facultative anaerobic bacteria, increase probiotics, and decrease pathogenic bacteria. This study aimed to determine the structure and metabolic differences in intestinal microbial communities among the Tibetan and Han populations on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and shed light on the factors that influence the abundance of the microbial communities in the gut. The structural characteristics of intestinal microorganisms were detected from blood and fecal samples using 16S rRNA sequencing. Metabolic characteristics were detected using gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOFMS). The influencing factors were analyzed using Spearman's correlation analysis. Bacteroides and Bifidobacterium were dominant in the intestinal tract of the Han population, while Bacteroides and Prevotella were dominant in that of the Tibetan population, with marked differences in Pseudomonas, Prevotella, and other genera. Ferulic acid and 4-methylcatechol were the main differential metabolites between the Tibetan and Han ethnic groups. This may be the reason for the different adaptability of Tibetan and Han nationalities to the plateau. Alanine aminotransferase and uric acid also have a high correlation with different bacteria and metabolites, which may play a role. These results reveal notable disparities in the compositions and metabolic characteristics of gut microbial communities in the Tibetan and Han people residing on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and may provide insights regarding the mechanism of plateau adaptability.
青藏高原的居民可能会因高原环境而经历肠道微生物群组成的变化。例如，高海拔会增加专性厌氧菌的丰度，减少需氧菌和兼性厌氧菌的数量，增加益生菌，并减少病原菌。本研究旨在确定青藏高原藏族和汉族人群肠道微生物群落的结构和代谢差异，并阐明影响肠道微生物群落丰度的因素。使用16S rRNA测序从血液和粪便样本中检测肠道微生物的结构特征。使用气相色谱-飞行时间质谱（GC-TOFMS）检测代谢特征。使用Spearman相关分析分析影响因素。拟杆菌属和双歧杆菌属在汉族人群肠道中占主导地位，而拟杆菌属和普雷沃菌属在藏族人群肠道中占主导地位，在假单胞菌属、普雷沃菌属和其他属中存在明显差异。阿魏酸和4-甲基邻苯二酚是藏族和汉族之间主要的差异代谢物。这可能是藏族和汉族对高原适应性不同的原因。谷丙转氨酶和尿酸也与不同的细菌和代谢物有高度相关性，可能起作用。这些结果揭示了居住在青藏高原的藏族和汉族人群肠道微生物群落组成和代谢特征的显著差异，并可能为高原适应性机制提供见解。
