Gut metagenomes of Asian octogenarians reveal metabolic potential expansion and distinct microbial species associated with aging phenotypes
While rapid demographic changes in Asia are driving the incidence of chronic aging-related diseases, the limited availability of high-quality in vivo data hampers our ability to understand complex multi-factorial contributions, including gut microbial, to healthy aging. Leveraging a well-phenotyped cohort of community-living octogenarians in Singapore, we used deep shotgun-metagenomic sequencing for high-resolution taxonomic and functional characterization of their gut microbiomes (n = 234). Joint species-level analysis with other Asian cohorts identified distinct age-associated shifts characterized by reduction in microbial richness, and specific Alistipes and Bacteroides species enrichment (e.g., Alistipes shahii and Bacteroides xylanisolvens). Functional analysis confirmed these changes correspond to metabolic potential expansion in aging towards alternate pathways synthesizing and utilizing amino-acid precursors, vis-à-vis dominant microbial guilds producing butyrate in gut from pyruvate (e.g., Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Roseburia inulinivorans). Extending these observations to key clinical markers helped identify >10 robust microbial associations to inflammation, cardiometabolic and liver health, including potential probiotic species (e.g., Parabacteroides goldsteinii) and pathobionts (e.g., Klebsiella pneumoniae), highlighting the microbiome's role as biomarkers and potential targets for promoting healthy aging.
Authors
- Eileen Png (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5586-6395)
- Brian Keith Kennedy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5754-1874)
- Andrea Britta Maier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7206-1724)
- Woon‐Puay Koh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5674-6341)
- Ahmad Nazri Mohamed Naim
- Jia Yu Koh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8772-8392)
- Anis Larbi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8805-5433)
- Paola Flórez de Sessions (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0258-9616)
- Lei Feng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3981-7646)
- Aarthi Ravikrishnan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2391-0202)
- Kern Rei Chng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2746-9880)
- Niranjan Nagarajan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0850-5604)
- Eliza Xin Pei Ho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4534-9815)
- Tze Pin Ng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9585-855X)
- Jasinda H. Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7779-8135)
- Jean-Sébastien Gounot (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2368-8779)
- Amanda Hui Qi Ng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-1604-9876)
- Chenhao Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1182-6804)
- Shou Ping Guan
- Lihuan Guan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0497-8519)
- Indrik Wijaya
Institutions
- Agency for Science, Technology and Research (SG)
- National University of Singapore (SG)
- Singapore Immunology Network (SG)
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SG)
- Genome Institute of Singapore (SG)
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2024-09-05
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52097-9
- Citations
- 22
- Primary Topic
- Gut microbiota and health
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 5.14
Funders
- Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development
- Agency for Science, Technology and Research
- National University of Singapore
- National University Health System