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The gut microbiome in konzo

  • Matthew S. Bramble
  • , Neerja Vashist
  • , Arthur Ko
  • , Sambhawa Priya
  • , Céleste Musasa
  • , Alban Mathieu
  • , D’ Andre Spencer
  • , Michel Lupamba Kasendue
  • , Patrick Mamona Dilufwasayo
  • , Kevin Karume
  • , Joanna Nsibu
  • , Hans Manya
  • , Mary N.A. Uy
  • , Brian Colwell
  • , Michael Boivin
  • , J. P.Banae Mayambu
  • , Daniel Okitundu
  • , Arnaud Droit
  • , Dieudonné Mumba Ngoyi
  • , Ran Blekhman
  • Desire Tshala-Katumbay, Eric Vilain

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Konzo, a distinct upper motor neuron disease associated with a cyanogenic diet and chronic malnutrition, predominately affects children and women of childbearing age in sub-Saharan Africa. While the exact biological mechanisms that cause this disease have largely remained elusive, host-genetics and environmental components such as the gut microbiome have been implicated. Using a large study population of 180 individuals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where konzo is most frequent, we investigate how the structure of the gut microbiome varied across geographical contexts, as well as provide the first insight into the gut flora of children affected with this debilitating disease using shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Our findings indicate that the gut microbiome structure is highly variable depending on region of sampling, but most interestingly, we identify unique enrichments of bacterial species and functional pathways that potentially modulate the susceptibility of konzo in prone regions of the Congo.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number5371
JournalNature communications
Volume12
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We would like to thank all of the Congolese participants of this study for kindly donating specimens for microbial analysis. We would also like to thank the funding sources for this project, with DTK being supported by NIH grant NIEHS/FIC R01ES019841, E.V. being supported by the A. James Clark Distinguished Professor of Molecular Genetics Endowment and M.S.B. being supported by the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under Award Number D43TW009343 and the University of California Global Health Institute (UCGHI); The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH or UCGHI. We would also to acknowledge the passing of a co-author, Jean-Pierre Banea Mayambu, a pioneer in the field of konzo, who will truly be missed.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 2 - Zero Hunger
    SDG 2 Zero Hunger

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