A quantitative comparison study of gut ecological change caused by host gene mutations

Research Project

Project/Area Number	17H06549
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	Integrative animal science
Research Institution	Shinshu University (2018) University of Tsukuba (2017)
Principal Investigator	Shigemori Suguru 信州大学, 農学部, アソシエイト研究員 (90803487)
Project Period (FY)	2017-08-25 – 2019-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2018)
Budget Amount *help	¥2,730,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥630,000) Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000) Fiscal Year 2017: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
Keywords	腸内生態系 / 腸内細菌叢 / 遺伝子改変マウス / 16Sメタゲノム解析 / メタゲノミクス / メタボロミクス
Outline of Final Research Achievements	Animals possess a gut ecosystem which is formed by complex interactions between gut-inhabiting microorganisms and host cells. A growing body of evidence is accumulating to demonstrate that a balanced gut ecosystem plays a critical role in health maintenance of the host. It has been suggested that certain gene mutations in hosts are causal factors of diseases associated with a significant change of the gut ecosystem. However, the whole picture of this phenomenon remains unclear. In this study, the structure of gut microbiota was quantitatively compared among different strains of genetically modified mice to estimate the degree of gut ecological change caused by host gene mutations. As a result, three novel mutations that caused different shift in the gut microbial structure were identified.
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	本研究では、安定した腸内細菌叢の構造を変化させる原因として、3つの宿主遺伝子変異を新規に同定することに成功した。すなわち、本研究成果は、これら遺伝子変異が腸内生態系を変動させる分子機序の解明に繋がり、宿主遺伝子変異―腸内生態系間の相互作用機序において新たな知見をもたらすものと期待される。また、本研究手法は、宿主遺伝子変異が腸内細菌叢の変動に及ぼす影響を定量比較する一手法として、未知遺伝子の評価や新規遺伝子の同定に貢献するものと考えられる。将来的には、本研究成果が、疾患の予防や軽減に向けた新規バイオマーカーの発見や創薬、機能性食品・飼料の創出に繋がることを期待したい。