Many gut microorganisms critical to human health rely on nutrients produced by each other for survival; however, these cross-feeding interactions are still challenging to quantify and remain poorly characterized. Here, we introduce a Metabolite Exchange Score (MES) to quantify those interactions. Using metabolic models of prokaryotic metagenome-assembled genomes from over 1600 individuals, MES allows us to identify and rank metabolic interactions that are significantly affected by a loss of cross-feeding partners in 10 out of 11 diseases. When applied to a Crohn’s disease case-control study, our approach identifies a lack of species with the ability to consume hydrogen sulfide as the main distinguishing microbiome feature of disease. We propose that our conceptual framework will help prioritize in-depth analyses, experiments and clinical targets, and that targeting the restoration of microbial cross-feeding interactions is a promising mechanism-informed strategy to reconstruct a healthy gut ecosystem.
How do microbial interactions look like in dysbiosis? We performed a large-scale metagenome-wide metabolic modelling study and found that it largely depends on the disease.
— Vanessa R Marcelino (@hologenomics) February 19, 2023
Preprint here: https://t.co/rASLaDltCS
🧵1/5