Biology subjects

Rampelli, S.

Publications and source records attributed to Rampelli, S..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Identification of potential colorectal-cancer-protective bioactive natural compounds in the human gut microbiome

Increasing evidence links the gut microbiome to the development and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC). Despite the remarkable diversity of microbial biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs), no CRC-protective bioactive natural compounds originating from gut microbiome BGCs have yet been detected. Here, we investigated BGCs within de novo gut metagenome-assembled species reconstructed from 559 individuals, including healthy controls, adenoma and CRC patients. Comparative analysis revealed distinct BGC patterns across groups, with four BGCs being significantly enriched in healthy individuals. One of these was predicted to be involved in the biosynthesis of a metabolite closely related to the anticancer compound curacin-A. Notably, this BGC was also overrepresented in healthy centenarians, suggesting a role in achieving long-term cancer-free health. Our findings highlight the importance of exploring gut microbiome BGCs as a source of novel bioactive molecules for cancer prevention and treatment, as well as for other health purposes.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2024

Consumption of only wild foods induces large-scale, partially-persistent alterations to the gut microbiome

The composition of the gut microbiome (GM) affects human health and varies among lifestyles. Adopting more "traditional" diets could lead to substantive and health-associated changes in the GM. However, research has focused on diets including domesticated foods. For most of our evolutionary history, humans consumed only wild foods. We explored the impact of a wild-food-only (WF) diet on the GM composition. One participant collected daily fecal samples and recorded daily food consumption over an eight-week period, the middle four weeks of which he consumed only wild foods (nuts, fruits and leafy greens, wild deer, and fish). Samples were profiled through 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and the species identified by oligotyping. The WF diet altered the GM composition, and the magnitude of the changes is larger than in other diet interventions. However, no new GM taxa, including "old friends" appeared; instead, the relative proportions of already-present taxa shifted. There is a clear successional shift from the pre-, during- and post-WF diet. The GM is very sensitive to the change from a "Western" diet to a WF diet, likely reflecting the different macro- and micronutrient properties of the consumed foods.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2020

Particulate Matter emission sources and meteorological parameters combine to shape the airborne microbiome communities in the Ligurian coast, Italy

Here we explore how the chemical composition of particulate matter (PM) and meteorological conditions combine in shaping the air microbiome in a heavily inhabited industrial urban settlement. During the observation time, the air microbiome was highly dynamic, fluctuating between different compositional states, likely resulting from the aerosolization of different microbiomes emission sources. This dynamic process depends on the combination of local meteorological parameters and particle emission sources, which may affect the prevalent aerosolized microbiomes. In particular, we showed that, in the investigated area, industrial emissions and winds blowing from the inlands combine with an airborne microbiome that includes faecal microbiomes components, suggesting multiple citizens exposure to both chemicals and microorganisms of faecal origin, as related to landscape exploitation and population density. In conclusion, our findings support the need to include monitoring of the air microbiome compositional structure as a relevant factor for the final assessment of local air quality.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2018

Gut microbiome response to a modern Paleolithic diet in a Western lifestyle context

The progressive reduction of gut microbiome (GM) biodiversity along human evolutionary history has been found to be particularly exacerbated in Western urban compared to traditional rural populations, and supposed to contribute to the increasing incidence of chronic non-communicable diseases. Together with sanitation, antibiotics and C-section, the Western diets, low in microbiota-accessible carbohydrates (MACs) while rich in industrialized and processed foods, are considered one of the leading causes of this shrinkage. However, significant questions remain unanswered, especially whether high-MAC low-processed diets may be sufficient to recover GM diversity in Western urban populations. Here, we profiled the GM structure of urban Italian subjects adhering to the modern Paleolithic diet (MPD), a dietary pattern featured by high consumption of MACs and low-to-zero intake of refined sugars and processed foods, and compared data with other Italian individuals following a Mediterranean Diet (MD), as well as worldwide traditional hunter-gatherer populations from previous publications. Notwithstanding a strong geography effect on the GM structure, our results show an unexpectedly high degree of GM biodiversity in MPD subjects, which well approximates that of traditional populations. Increasing the consumption of MACs at the expense of refined sugars, and minimizing the intake of processed foods, both hallmarks of the MPD, could be the key to rewild the Western microbiota, counteracting the loss of GM diversity and thus restoring evolutionarily important functionality to our gut for improved human health.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2018

Comment on \"Seasonal cycling in the gut microbiome of the Hadza hunter-gatherers of Tanzania\"

In a recent paper, Smits et al. (Science, 25 August 2017, p. 802) report on seasonal changes in the gut microbiome of Hadza hunter-gatherers. They argue that seasonal volatility of some bacterial taxa corresponds to seasonal dietary changes. We address the authors insufficient reporting of relevant data and problematic areas in their assumptions about Hadza diet that yield inconsistencies in their results and interpretations.

ecology↗