Abstract Detail

Symbioses: Plant, Animal, and Microbe Interactions

Hallen-Adams, Heather [1].

The significance of fungi in human gut microbiome studies.

We may well be said to have entered the Age of the Microbiome, with new studies appearing constantly and whole journals devoted to the human microbiome. While bacteria outnumber other gut microbes millions-to-one, eukaryotes are conststently found in the human gut, and are represented primarily by the fungi. Compiling 36 studies spanning from 1917-2015, we found at least 268 distinct fungal taxa have been reported from the human gut, and seemingly every new study includes one or more fungi never hitherto described from the gut. This diversity, while impressive, is somewhat illusory. If we examine gut fungi, we will quickly observe a division between a small number of common species (Candida yeasts, Saccharomyces, and yeasts in the Dipodascaceae; and Malassezia species), and a long tail of taxa which have only been reported once (200 of the aforementioned 268 taxa). Furthermore, an investigation into the ecology of these rarer species reveals that many of them cannot be considered true members of the microbiome: fungi that cannot grow at 37 C, mycorrhizal fungi, endophytes, etc. I will discuss what we know and have yet to learn about fungi in the microbiome, as well as providing profiles of some interesting fungi, both native to the gut and "passing through"; I hope to provide a convincing argument for the need to include thoe with taxonomic and ecological expertise in microbiome studies, and the perils of trusting too implicitly in the data without seeking also the meaning.

1 - University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Food Science and Technology, 319 Food Industry Complex, Lincoln, NE, 68503-0919, USA

Keywords:
microbiome
Candida
Malassezia
Fungi
ecology.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Topics
Session: 51
Location: Salon 5/The Shaw Conference Centre
Date: Tuesday, July 28th, 2015
Time: 5:00 PM
Number: 51014
Abstract ID:1164
Candidate for Awards:None