Diversity and functional prediction of gut microbiota in children with autism spectrum disorder

LIU Zhi-Cheng; WU De; QU Ai-Na; WANG Lu-Lu

doi:10.7499/j.issn.1008-8830.2207130

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Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics ›› 2022, Vol. 24 ›› Issue (12) : 1356-1364. DOI: 10.7499/j.issn.1008-8830.2207130

CLINICAL RESEARCH

Diversity and functional prediction of gut microbiota in children with autism spectrum disorder

LIU Zhi-Cheng, WU De, QU Ai-Na, WANG Lu-Lu

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Abstract

Objective To study the structure and diversity of gut microbiota in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and to predict the metabolic function of gut microbiota. Methods Fecal samples were collected from 30 ASD children (ASD group) and 20 typically developing (TD) children (TD group). Genomic DNA was extracted, the 16S rDNA V4 region was amplified by PCR, and Illumina NovaSeq6000 platform was used for high-throughput sequencing. The composition and distribution characteristics of gut microbiota were analyzed for the two groups, and the metabolic function of gut microbiota was predicted. Results There were no significant differences in alpha diversity indices (Chao1, Shannon, and Simpson) of gut microbiota between the ASD and TD groups (P>0.05). At the phylum and class levels, there was no significant difference in the structure of gut microbiota between the two groups (P>0.05). Compared with the TD group, the ASD group had significantly higher abundance of Megamonas, Barnesiella, Dialister, Megasphaera, Ruminococcus_torques_group, and Fusobacterium at the genus level (P<0.05). Functional prediction analysis showed that compared with the TD group, the ASD group had a significantly lower abundance of the gut microbiota with the metabolic functions such as tryptophan degradation, glutamate degradation, and butyrate production (P<0.05) and a significantly higher abundance of the gut microbiota with the metabolic function of GABA degradation (P<0.05). Conclusions There is no significant difference in the alpha diversity of gut microbiota between ASD children and TD children, while there are differences in the composition of species at the genus level and the metabolic functions of gut microbiota.

Key words

Autism spectrum disorder / Gut microbiota / High-throughput sequencing / 16S rDNA / Child

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LIU Zhi-Cheng, WU De, QU Ai-Na, WANG Lu-Lu. Diversity and functional prediction of gut microbiota in children with autism spectrum disorder[J]. Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics. 2022, 24(12): 1356-1364 https://doi.org/10.7499/j.issn.1008-8830.2207130

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