Biology subjects

Gallardo-Becerra, L.

Publications and source records attributed to Gallardo-Becerra, L..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Host Genome Drives the Diversity, Richness, and Beneficial Microbes in the Shrimp Microbiota: A Hologenome Perspective.

Despite the growing understanding of the factors influencing the shrimp microbiome, the impact of host genetics on modulating the intestinal microbiota still needs to be studied. Moreover, the existing studies were typically conducted using animal models and under laboratory conditions. Here, we investigated the effect of two shrimp genetics, fast-growth (Gen1) and disease-resistant (Gen2), on shaping the microbiota of the hepatopancreas and the intestine in open-pond aquaculture farming conditions. First, we identified significant genomic differences between the two genetic lines using genome-wide SNP analysis. Then, the microbiota analysis confirmed that organs had a more substantial impact, explaining 33.9% of the variability, followed by the genetic line, which explained 17.3%. The microbiota of the hepatopancreas was more significantly affected by the genetic line than the intestine. Gen1 exhibited higher richness, diversity, niche breadth, and abundance of beneficial microbes than Gen2, suggesting that Gen1 had a more generalist microbiota. By comparing the microbiota of another set of healthy and diseased shrimps, we confirmed that a higher presence of beneficial microbes was linked to a healthy shrimp status. Additionally, we genotyped and determined the microbiota of wild-type shrimps, proving that they differ from those observed in both genetic lines. Interestingly, ponds with Gen1 had better productivity than Gen2, suggesting a potential link between higher productivity and the microbiota selected by Gen1. Our study highlights the importance of the holobiome perspective in breeding and management programs. It suggests that a specific genetic line and its associated microbiota could be used to select the larvae to be cultivated, improving shrimp aquaculture production.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2022

A loss of crAssphage stability in the human gut virome is associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome

Viral metagenomics studies of the human gut microbiota unravel differences in phage populations between healthy and disease, stimulating interest in the role that phages play in bacterial ecosystem regulation. CrAssphages are not only the most abundant viruses but also are a common component of the gut phageome across human populations. However, the role of crAssphages in obesity (O) and obesity with metabolic syndrome (OMS) remains largely unknown. Therefore, we explored the role that crAssphages have on both diseases in a childrens cohort. We found decreased crAssphage abundance, prevalence, richness, and diversity in O and OMS compared to normal-weight (NW), suggesting a loss of crAssphages stability in the human phageome associated with the disease. Interestingly, when we analyzed the abundance of host crAssphages bacteria, we found that Bacteroidetes, Bacteroidia, and Bacteroidales were significantly decreased in O and OMS, suggesting a possible relation with the loss of crAssphages stability. Regarding crAssphage taxonomy, a significantly decreased abundance of the crAssphage Alpha subfamily and the Alpha_1 and Alpha_4 genus and a significant overabundance of the Delta_8 was found in OMS. A strong taxonomical signature of obesity is the over-abundance of Bacilli, which also were significantly increased in O and OMS. Notably, we found a significant negative correlation between crAssphages and Bacilli abundances, suggesting an association between the decreased abundance of crAssphage and the over-abundance of Bacilli in OMS. Furthermore, we found a loss of crAssphage stability in the human virome associated with the presence of obesity, having a more significant impact on obesity with metabolic syndrome, suggesting that these bacteriophages could play an essential role in inhibiting metabolic syndrome in obese individuals. Our results open a promising treatment for these diseases through fecal crAssphage transplantation.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2020

Gut Phageome Analysis Reveals Disease-Specific Hallmarks in Childhood Obesity

Changes in the composition of the human gut microbiome are recognized to have a significant association with obesity and metabolic syndrome. Mexico leads worldwide childhood-obesity rankings representing an epidemic problem for public health. To this date, it is still unclear how the gut phageome, the bacteriophage component of the virome, influences childhood obesity and obesity with metabolic syndrome. We characterized the gut phageome of 28 school-age children with healthy normal-weight (NW), obese (O), and obese with metabolic syndrome (OMS) profiles, using metagenomic sequencing of virus-like particles (VLPs) from fecal samples. Viromes derived from VLPs were mainly dominated by Caudovirales, and only Inoviridae family was significantly increased in obesity. The three groups showed a similar number of VLPs, while a significant increase in phage richness and diversity was found in obesity groups compared NW. Few phage contigs dominated the phageome composition in NW, being increased in obesity groups. Interestingly, the majority of the phageome was shared among all individuals, establishing a core and common phageome, which abundances correlated with anthropometric and biochemical traits and bacteria previously associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome. We also established a healthy core phageome shared in >80% of NW samples, with a decreased prevalence in the O and OMS groups. Our data support that changes in the gut phageome may contribute to obesity and metabolic syndrome development via bacterial dysbiosis. We consider the phageome characterization provides the basis for novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for managing obesity and preventing metabolic syndrome development in obese children through potential phage manipulation. To the best of our knowledge, this study represents the most in-depth sequenced dataset of human bacteriophages, demonstrating for the first time that alterations of the gut phageome characterize obesity.

genomics↗