The gut microbiome but not the resistome is associated with urogenital schistosomiasis in preschool-aged children

Commun Biol. 2020 Apr 2;3(1):155. doi: 10.1038/s42003-020-0859-7.

Abstract

Helminth parasites have been shown to have systemic effects in the host. Using shotgun metagenomic sequencing, we characterise the gut microbiome and resistome of 113 Zimbabwean preschool-aged children (1-5 years). We test the hypothesis that infection with the human helminth parasite, Schistosoma haematobium, is associated with changes in gut microbial and antimicrobial resistance gene abundance/diversity. Here, we show that bacteria phyla Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and fungi phyla Ascomycota, Microsporidia, Zoopagomycota dominate the microbiome. The abundance of Proteobacteria, Ascomycota, and Basidiomycota differ between schistosome-infected versus uninfected children. Specifically, infection is associated with increases in Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas, Derxia, Thalassospira, Aspergillus, Tricholoma, and Periglandula, with a decrease in Azospirillum. We find 262 AMR genes, from 12 functional drug classes, but no association with individual-specific data. To our knowledge, we describe a novel metagenomic dataset of Zimbabwean preschool-aged children, indicating an association between urogenital schistosome infection and changes in the gut microbiome.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Age Factors
  • Animals
  • Bacteria / classification
  • Bacteria / genetics
  • Bacteria / growth & development*
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Child, Preschool
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome*
  • Host-Parasite Interactions
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Intestines / microbiology*
  • Male
  • Metagenome
  • Metagenomics
  • Schistosoma haematobium / pathogenicity*
  • Schistosomiasis haematobia / diagnosis
  • Schistosomiasis haematobia / microbiology*
  • Schistosomiasis haematobia / parasitology*
  • Zimbabwe