Shotgun Metagenomic Sequencing Identifies Dysbiosis in Triplet Sibling with Gastrointestinal Symptoms and ASD

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Children (Basel). 2020 Nov 25;7(12):255.
PMID: 33255785 PMCID: PMC7759978 DOI: 10.3390/children7120255

Shotgun Metagenomic Sequencing Identifies Dysbiosis in Triplet Sibling with Gastrointestinal Symptoms and ASD

Sabine Hazan 1 , Kimberly D Spradling-Reeves 2 , Andreas Papoutsis 1 , Stephen J Walker 3

Affiliations

1 Progenabiome™ Ventura Clinical Trials, 1835 Knoll Dr, Ventura, CA 93003, USA.
2 Department of Internal Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Blvd, Winston Salem, NC 27157, USA.
3 Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, 391 Technology Way, Winston Salem, NC 27101, USA.

Abstract

The gut microbiome profile of a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and co-occurring gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms was compared to that of her healthy triplet siblings to determine if she exhibited intestinal dysbiosis. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing was performed in individual fecal samples, and relative microbial abundance and diversity was determined. Microbial diversity was lower in sibling #3, coupled with a higher Bacteroidetes/Firmicutes ratio, a lower relative abundance of Actinobacteria, and an increased relative abundance of Proteobacteria. Our findings are suggestive of gut dysbiosis in a child with ASD and co-occurring GI symptoms, compared to her two healthy triplet siblings.

  • November 25, 2020