Gut microbiota alterations are linked to COVID-19 severity in North African and European populations
Although COVID-19 primarily affects the respiratory system, many patients experience gastrointestinal symptoms, suggesting a role for the gut microbiota in disease pathogenesis. To explore this, we performed shotgun metagenomic sequencing on stool samples from 200 COVID-19 patients and 102 healthy controls in Morocco and France. Despite geographic differences in microbiota composition, patients with COVID-19 in both continents exhibited significant gut microbiota alterations, which were more pronounced in severe cases, with similar features compared with controls. Functional pathways, including L-Tryptophan biosynthesis, were disrupted, particularly in patients with severe disease. Machine learning models accurately predicted disease severity based on gut microbial profiles in the Moroccan cohort, though not in the French cohort. These results highlight consistent microbiota changes associated with COVID-19 and support a potential link between gut dysbiosis and disease severity.
Authors
- Laura Creusot (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3882-8423)
- Youssef Tijani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0155-8191)
- Sophie Georgin‐Lavialle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6668-8854)
- Loubna Khalki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8612-8432)
- Noémie Simon‐Tillaux (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7138-5364)
- Pierre Hausfater
- François Trottein (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3373-1814)
- Antoine Lefèvre (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9032-1085)
- Florence Tubach (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7802-944X)
- Marius Bredon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7396-8870)
- Patrick Emond (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5324-2164)
- Younes Zaid
- Alexandre Bleibtreu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5145-4174)
- Nathalie Rolhion (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2946-4808)
- Amine Cheikh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5602-3004)
- Gérard Lambeau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9239-518X)
- Harry Sokol (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2914-1822)
- Loïc Brot (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6977-4253)
- Guy Gorochov
- Tabassome Simon
- Jean-Luc Baudel
Institutions
- Université de Tours (FR)
- Mohammed V University (MA)
- Inserm (FR)
- Sorbonne Université (FR)
- Imaging, Brain, and Neuropsychiatry (FR)
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Tours (FR)
- Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (FR)
- Centre de Référence des Maladies Autoinflammatoires et des Amyloses (FR)
- Hôpital Saint-Antoine (FR)
- Fédération Hospitalo-Universitaire, Paris Center for Microbiome Medicine (FR)
- Ministère de la Santé (MA)
- Université Mohammed VI des Sciences et de la Santé (MA)
- Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital (FR)
- Centre d'Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses (FR)
- Centre de Recherche Saint-Antoine (FR)
- University of Hassan II Casablanca (MA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- npj Biofilms and Microbiomes
- Published
- 2025-06-13
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41522-025-00733-7
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Gut microbiota and health
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.42
Funders
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche