Analysis of gut microbiota in long-lived older adults and their relatives: a gradual change with ageing

Publication date: Available online 22 November 2018Source: Mechanisms of Ageing and DevelopmentAuthor(s): Qi Zhu, Linsheng Huang, Jian Zhu, Jianquan Lu, Huanlong QinAbstractPromoting the health span and lifespan of humans is the ultimate proposition of medical science. Several lifespan-reducing chronic diseases are associated with alterations in the gut microbiota (GM) composition. We aimed to identify the particular age-related GM trajectory in older Chinese adults and investigated the characteristic gut bacterial taxa of long-lived Chinese individuals. Faecal samples from 375 older adults (centenarians or adults nearly 100 years old and their younger immediate relatives) from a longevity area in East China were analysed by 16S-rRNA sequencing. The GM in the extreme-aged older adult group differed from that in the younger older adult group. GM community richness and some particular bacterial taxa (e.g., Escherichia-Shigella, Alistipes and Parabacteroides) are positively associated with ageing, whereas some other bacterial taxa (e.g., Prevotella_9 and Faecalibacterium) are negatively associated with ageing. The GM community diversity is positively associated with ageing in those from 50-59 to 90-99 years old and negatively associated with ageing in those from 90-99 to 100-109 years old. Our results indicate that the GM composition of healthy older adults changed gradually with ageing. Certain bacterial taxa stand out as the most characteristic of long-lived Chinese and may co...
Source: Mechanisms of Ageing and Development - Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research