Evaluation of the gastric microbiota based on body mass index using 16S rRNA gene sequencingOriginal paper
Karen Pendergrass is a microbiome researcher specializing in microbiome-targeted interventions (MBTIs). She systematically analyzes scientific literature to identify microbial patterns, develop hypotheses, and validate interventions. As the founder of the Microbiome Signatures Database, she bridges microbiome research with clinical practice. In 2012, based on her own investigative research, she became the first documented case of FMT for Celiac Disease, four years before the first published case study.
Read MoreWho was studied?
Thirty participants undergoing health checkups were classified into three groups-normal weight (BMI 18.5-22.9), overweight (BMI 23.0-24.9), and obese (BMI ≥25.0)-with ten individuals per group. Those with H. pylori infection, atrophic gastritis, or intestinal metaplasia were excluded. Gastric microbiota from four antral biopsies per subject were analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing and functional profiling by metagenomic prediction.
What were the most important findings?
Alpha diversity (Gini-Simpson index) was significantly lower in the combined overweight/obese group than that in the normal group (P=0.049). Beta diversity analysis revealed clear group separation (Bray-Curtis, P=0.005; unweighted UniFrac, P=0.004). Significant species differences between the groups were observed; specifically, the abundances of Muribaculum gordoncarteri, Turicibacter bilis, and Duncaniella dubosii, were significantly reduced in the overweight/obese group. Functional predictions showed differential enrichment of pathways related to fatty acid, amino acid, vitamin, and carbohydrate metabolism across BMI categories. These findings suggest that alterations in the gastric microbiota may be linked to obesity and metabolic dysregulation.