Castañeda Sergio, Tomiak Jeff, Andersen Lee O'Brien, Acosta Claudia Patricia, Vasquez-A Luis Reinel, Stensvold Christen Rune, Ramírez Juan David
Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Biotecnología-UR (CIMBIUR), Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia.
Laboratory of Parasitology, Department of Bacteria, Parasites and Fungi, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2025 May 12;19(5):e0013111. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0013111. eCollection 2025 May.
The role of Blastocystis, a common intestinal parasitic protist of humans and other animals, in human health and disease remains elusive. Recent studies suggest a connection between Blastocystis colonization, healthier lifestyles, and high-diversity gut microbiota. Nevertheless, studies concerning the relationship between Blastocystis colonization, its intensity, and gut microbiota composition -involving both bacterial and eukaryotic communities- remain limited.
This study examines the impact of Blastocystis carriage and colonization intensity on gut microbiota composition in a rural community in Colombia. A total of 88 human samples were collected from the rural population of Las Guacas village, located in the Cauca department in southwest Colombia. We utilized 16S and 18S rDNA sequencing to analyze both bacterial and eukaryotic microbiota, comparing Blastocystis-positive and -negative individuals, as well as groups with varying Blastocystis colonization intensity (low, medium, high), to identify distinct microbiota profiles and differentially abundant taxa linked to each condition.
The analysis revealed significant differences between Blastocystis-positive and -negative individuals. In terms of bacterial composition and structure, Blastocystis-positive individuals exhibited distinct microbiota profiles, as shown by beta diversity analysis. Taxa associated with colonization included Bacteroides, Prevotella, Oscillibacter, Faecalibacterium, and Alistipes. Higher Blastocystis colonization intensity was associated with an increased abundance of taxa such as Alistipes and Lachnospira, while lower intensities correlated with beneficial bacteria such as Akkermansia. Regarding eukaryotic composition, beta diversity analysis revealed distinct profiles associated with Blastocystis colonization. Differentially abundant taxa, including Entamoeba coli, were more prevalent in Blastocystis-positive individuals, while Blastocystis-negative individuals exhibited a higher abundance of opportunistic fungi, such as Candida albicans. Machine learning models, including random forest classifiers, supported these findings, identifying Faecalibacterium and Bacteroides as predictors of Blastocystis colonization.
These findings suggest that Blastocystis may modulate gut microbiota, contributing to microbial balance providing new insights into the ecological implications of Blastocystis in rural populations.
人芽囊原虫是人和其他动物常见的肠道寄生原生生物，其在人类健康与疾病中的作用仍不明确。近期研究表明人芽囊原虫定植、更健康的生活方式与高多样性肠道微生物群之间存在联系。然而，关于人芽囊原虫定植、其定植强度与肠道微生物群组成（包括细菌和真核生物群落）之间关系的研究仍然有限。
本研究考察了人芽囊原虫携带情况和定植强度对哥伦比亚一个农村社区肠道微生物群组成的影响。从位于哥伦比亚西南部考卡省的拉斯瓜卡斯村的农村人口中总共收集了88份人类样本。我们利用16S和18S rDNA测序分析细菌和真核生物微生物群，比较人芽囊原虫阳性和阴性个体，以及不同人芽囊原虫定植强度（低、中、高）的组，以确定与每种情况相关的不同微生物群谱和差异丰富的分类群。
分析揭示了人芽囊原虫阳性和阴性个体之间存在显著差异。在细菌组成和结构方面，人芽囊原虫阳性个体表现出不同的微生物群谱，如β多样性分析所示。与定植相关的分类群包括拟杆菌属、普雷沃菌属、颤杆菌属、粪杆菌属和艾氏菌属。人芽囊原虫定植强度较高与艾氏菌属和毛螺菌属等分类群丰度增加相关，而定植强度较低与有益细菌如阿克曼氏菌相关。关于真核生物组成，β多样性分析揭示了与人芽囊原虫定植相关的不同谱。差异丰富的分类群，包括结肠内阿米巴，在人芽囊原虫阳性个体中更普遍，而人芽囊原虫阴性个体表现出较高丰度的机会性真菌，如白色念珠菌。包括随机森林分类器在内的机器学习模型支持了这些发现，将粪杆菌属和拟杆菌属确定为人芽囊原虫定植的预测因子。
这些发现表明人芽囊原虫可能调节肠道微生物群，有助于微生物平衡，为农村人群中人芽囊原虫的生态影响提供了新见解。
