Human salivary amylase gene copy number impacts oral and gut microbiomes

Abstract

Host genetic variation influences the composition of the human microbiome. While studies have focused on associations between the microbiome and single nucleotide polymorphisms in genes, their copy number (CN) can also vary. Here, in a study of human subjects including a 2-week standard diet, we relate oral and gut microbiome to CN at the AMY1 locus, which encodes the gene for salivary amylase, active in starch degradation. We show that although diet standardization drove gut microbiome convergence, AMY1-CN influenced oral and gut microbiome composition and function. The gut microbiomes of low-AMY1-CN subjects had an enhanced capacity for breakdown of complex carbohydrates. Those of high-AMY1 subjects were enriched in microbiota linked to resistant starch fermentation, had higher fecal SCFAs, and drove higher adiposity when transferred to germfree mice. Gut microbiota results were validated in a larger separate population. This study establishes AMY1-CN as a genetic factor patterning microbiome composition and function.