Coupling gut metabolome to microbiome for assessing health status (KB-37-004-024)

To achieve the goal, we selected a study that has relevant samples in the freezers. Part of the selected study is already published: enriched housing conditions affect pig welfare, immune system, and gut microbiota in early life; doi: 10.1186/s42523-021-00115-2. Digesta content of the jejunum, ileum, and colon, as well as faecal samples from the track, were analysed for their metabolite profiles. In this project, a protocol was developed for the detection of metabolites from complex sample matrices such as digesta and/or faecal samples. More than 2000 putative compounds (masses) were detected in the samples using LCMS (either in positive or negative mode). Preliminary (statistical) data analysis of the measured/identified metabolic profile has shown that there are a large number of metabolites (> 900) that differ significantly in the metabolite profiles of samples from different intestinal sections. In addition, the metabolic profiles in the colon and faces are relatively similar, which is in line with published literatures. 

We believe that the developed protocol can also be applied to human digesta and/or faecal samples, as metabolomics approaches do not suffer from species differences. The preliminary data analysis provides insight into the metabolic profiles of complex sample matrices such as digesta and/or faecal samples. As an expected follow-up, in addition to data analysis of metabolic profiles, we will focus on benchmarking metabolites known to be synthesised by the resident gut microbiome. To this end, we will use the knowledge of the microbiome that is already available for these samples, i.e., the 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing data. More in-depth data analysis is needed to draw legitimate conclusions based on the experimental design.