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Western oropharyngeal and gut microbial profiles are associated with allergic conditions in Chinese immigrant children

Citation

Guo, J and Lv, Q and Ariff, A and Zhang, X and Peacock, CS and Song, Y and Wen, X and Saiganesh, A and Melton, PE and Dykes, GA and Moses, EK and LE Souef, PN and Lu, F and Zhang, G, Western oropharyngeal and gut microbial profiles are associated with allergic conditions in Chinese immigrant children, World Allergy Organization Journal, 12, (8) Article 100051. ISSN 1939-4551 (2019) [Refereed Article]


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© 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of World Allergy Organization. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

DOI: doi:10.1016/j.waojou.2019.100051

Abstract

Background: The allergy epidemic resulting from western environment/lifestyles is potentially due to modifications of the human microbiome. Therefore, it is of interest to study immigrants living in a western environment as well as their counterparts in the country of origin to understand differences in their microbiomes and health status.

Methods: We investigated 58 Australian Chinese (AC) children from Perth, Western Australia as well as 63 Chinese-born Chinese (CC) children from a city in China. Oropharyngeal (OP) and fecal samples were collected. To assess the microbiomes, 16s ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequencing for variable regions V3 and V4 was used. Skin prick tests (SPT) were performed to measure the children's atopic status. Information on food allergy and wheezing were acquired from a questionnaire.

Results: AC children had more allergic conditions than CC children. The alpha diversity (mean species diversity) of both OP and gut microbiome was lower in AC children compared to CC children for richness estimate (Chao1), while diversity evenness (Shannon index) was higher. The beta diversity (community similarity) displayed a distinct separation of the OP and gut microbiota between AC and CC children. An apparent difference in microbial abundance was observed for many bacteria. In AC children, we sought to establish consistent trends in bacterial relative abundance that are either higher or lower in AC versus CC children and higher or lower in children with allergy versus those without allergy. The majority of OP taxa showed a consistent trend while the majority of fecal taxa showed a contrasting trend.

Conclusion: Distinct differences in microbiome compositions were found in both oropharyngeal and fecal samples of AC and CC children. The association of the OP microbiome with allergic condition is different from that of the gut microbiome in AC children. The microbiome profiles are changed by the western environment/lifestyle and are associated with allergies in Chinese immigrant children in Australia.

Item Details

Item Type:Refereed Article
Keywords:microbiome, immigration, western environment, atopy, allergy
Research Division:Medical and Health Sciences
Research Group:Medical Microbiology
Research Field:Medical Bacteriology
Objective Division:Health
Objective Group:Public Health (excl. Specific Population Health)
Objective Field:Behaviour and Health
UTAS Author:Song, Y (Dr Yong Song)
ID Code:135689
Year Published:2019
Deposited By:Menzies Institute for Medical Research
Deposited On:2019-11-08
Last Modified:2019-12-09
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