Archaea and Fungi of the Human Gut Microbiome: Correlations with Diet and Bacterial Residents

Diet influences health as a source of nutrients and toxins, and by shaping the composition of resident microbial populations. Previous studies have begun to map out associations between diet and the bacteria and viruses of the human gut microbiome. Here we investigate associations of diet with fungal and archaeal populations, taking advantage of samples from 98 well-characterized individuals. Diet was quantified using inventories scoring both long-term and recent diet, and archaea and fungi were characterized by deep sequencing of marker genes in DNA purified from stool. For fungi, we found 66 genera, with generally mutually exclusive presence of either the phyla Ascomycota or Basiodiomycota. For archaea,…

• PD
  Pennsylvania Department of Health
• UO
  University of Pennsylvania

  Award: UL1RR024134
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Awards: K24-DK078228, UL1RR024134, and K24, DK050306, P30 DK050306
• NC
  National Center for Research Resources

  Award: UL1RR024134