AUTHOR=Nourrisson Céline , Scanzi Julien , Brunet Julie , Delbac Frédéric , Dapoigny Michel , Poirier Philippe 

TITLE=Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Fecal Microbiota in Irritable Bowel Syndrome Patients and Healthy Individuals Colonized With Blastocystis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.713347

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2021.713347

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Blastocystis</italic> is the most frequently isolated protozoan from human stool. Its role in human health is still debated, and a high prevalence was reported in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) subjects, suggesting a potential link with microbiota. In the present study, we aimed to investigate prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbiota in both IBS-C (constipated) and healthy individuals. We recruited 35 IBS-C patients and 23 healthy subjects, from which 12 and 11 carried <italic>Blastocystis</italic>, respectively. We performed 16S and 18S rRNA high-throughput sequencing on feces. Whereas we did not observe differences between infected and non-infected controls, several phyla were significantly modified in IBS-C patients according to the presence of <italic>Blastocystis</italic>. <italic>Tenericutes</italic> phylum and <italic>Ruminococcaceae</italic> family were especially increased in <italic>Blastocystis</italic> carriers. Furthermore, colonization with <italic>Blastocystis</italic> was associated with discrete changes in the microbial eukaryome, particularly among the <italic>Fungi</italic> taxa. Depending on the group of patients considered, the mycobiota changes do not go in the same direction and seem more deleterious in the IBS-C group. These results encourage further <italic>in vivo</italic> and <italic>in vitro</italic> investigations concerning the role of <italic>Blastocystis</italic> in the gut environment.</p>