Dietary Nutrients Involved in One-Carbon Metabolism and Colonic Mucosa-Associated Gut Microbiome in Individuals with an Endoscopically Normal Colon

Abstract

One carbon (1C) metabolism nutrients influence epigenetic regulation and they are supplied by diet and synthesized by gut microbiota. We examined the association between dietary consumption of methyl donors (methionine, betaine and choline) and B vitamins (folate, B2, B6, and B12) and the community composition and structure of the colonic mucosa-associated gut microbiota determined by 16S rRNA gene sequencing in 97 colonic biopsies of 35 men. We used the food frequency questionnaire to assess daily consumption of nutrients, and the UPARSE and SILVA databases for operational taxonomic unit classification. The difference in bacterial diversity and taxonomic relative abundance were compared between low versus high consumption of these nutrients. False discover rate (FDR) adjusted <i>p</i> value < 0.05 indicated statistical significance. The bacterial richness and composition differed significantly by the consumption of folate and B vitamins (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Compared with higher consumption, a lower consumption of these nutrients was associated with a lower abundance of <i>Akkermansia</i> (folate), <i>Roseburia</i> (vitamin B2), and <i>Faecalibacterium</i> (vitamins B2, B6, and B12) but a higher abundance of <i>Erysipelatoclostridium</i> (vitamin B2) (FDR <i>p</i> values < 0.05). The community composition and structure of the colonic bacteria differed significantly by dietary consumption of folate and B vitamins.