A global-scale characterisation of the neuroactive potential of the human gut microbiome

Microbiome-gut-brain axis research largely focuses on high-income countries, leaving other populations reliant on findings that may not generalise to their contexts. To address this gap, we reanalysed 171,846 faecal samples profiled via amplicon sequencing from 72 countries to create the first global-scale characterisation of the human gut microbiome’s neuroactive potential. After inferring the genomic content of each sample, we found regional differences in the abundance of pathways for short-chain fatty acids, tryptophan, and GABA metabolism, as well as in the overall neuroactive potential of the human gut microbiome. Our results highlight a pressing need for greater global representation in the field.