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Soy positively impacts cecal microbiota of ovariectomized rats selectively bred for low aerobic capacity
Author(s) -
Liu TzuWen,
Zidon Terese M.,
Welly Rebecca J.,
Park YoungMin,
Britton Steven L.,
Koch Lauren G.,
Padilla Jaume,
VieiraPotter Victoria J.,
Swanson Kelly S.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.30.1_supplement.146.1
Subject(s) - ovariectomized rat , soy protein , endocrinology , medicine , isoflavones , biology , gut flora , microbiome , amplicon sequencing , estrogen , food science , biochemistry , bioinformatics , 16s ribosomal rna , gene
Menopause associates with obesity and insulin resistance (IR) that are likely attributed to loss of ovarian hormone production. Soy is known to ameliorate these menopause‐associated metabolic dysfunctions for reasons that are not clear. The gut microbiome has been shown to mediate gut integrity and impact systemic inflammation associated with obesity. Soy‐mediated changes to gut microbial communities may represent one potential mechanism for its beneficial metabolic impacts in the setting of ovarian hormone insufficiency. OBJECTIVE To determine the impact of soy on cecal microbiota in intact vs. ovariectomized (OVX) rats bred for low‐running capacity (LCR), a model previously shown to mimic human menopause. METHODS 20‐wk old LCR rats were either OVX or sham operated (SHM) and fed either soy‐rich (soy) or soy‐free (control) diets for 28‐wk, resulting in a 2×2 factorial design (n=10/group): 1) OVX/soy; 2) SHM/soy; 3) OVX/control; 4) SHM/control. Diets were isocaloric and comparable in protein, fat, carbohydrate, and fiber contents. DNA from cecal digesta collected at sacrifice were extracted, followed by 16S rRNA amplicon Illumina MiSeq sequencing and analysis using QIIME 1.9.1 and LEfSe. RESULTS As previously reported, soy reduced adiposity and improved insulin sensitivity of these OVX rats. Principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) of weighted and unweighted UniFrac distances of cecal microbiota revealed a sharp separation ( p <0.05) between soy‐ and control‐fed groups. Alpha diversity measures revealed lower ( p <0.05) species richness in rats fed soy vs. control. The soy‐rich diet decreased ( p <0.001) the Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes ratio. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) effect size analysis identified that rats fed soy had decreased relative abundance of Firmicutes ( Clostridiaceae , Peptostreptococcaceae ), Actinobacteria, and Spirochaetales, but increased relative abundance of Bacteroidetes ( Prevotellaceae ), Cyanobacteria, and Betaproteobacteria. OVX rats had increased relative abundance of Anaerovibrio compared to SHM rats. A positive correlation ( p <0.001) was found between glucose intolerance and an undefined genus in S24‐7 family. CONCLUSION Soy significantly decreased the Firmicutes:Bacteroidetes ratio, suggesting a beneficial shift in gut microbial communities in our rat model mimics human menopause. Support or Funding Information (CBIS to V. Vieira‐Potter) by Grant Number P50AT006273