By revealing how a high-fiber diet alters the gut microbiome, scientists found a universal bacterial pattern that could transform how we predict and treat chronic diseases. Study: A core microbiome signature as an indicator of health . Image Credit: Danijela Maksimovic / Shutterstock In a recent study published in the journal Cell , researchers analyzed data from a high-fiber dietary intervention among people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and other diseases.
They aimed to understand relationships between specific genomes in the gut microbiota and identify key microbes based on their consistent presence in different health conditions. Their analysis identified two groups of gut microbes, one that supports health through fiber digestion and another associated with disease resistance. Background Soluble fibers like beta-glucans from oats and barley can reduce LDL cholesterol and improve heart health, making them a powerful tool for disease prevention.
The gut microbiome, or the ecosystem of microbes that live in the gastrointestinal system, is crucial for health, improving digestion and immune function, and has even been linked to behavior. While understanding these communities is crucial, traditional methods used to study gut microbiota have yielded inconsistent results when linking specific microbes to diseases like diabetes or obesity and may overlook subtle differences between microbial groups. However, high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes (HQMAGs) allow researchers to use.