Age-dependent sexual dimorphism in the adult human gut microbiota

Zhang, X.; Zhong, H.; Li, Y.; Shi, Z.; Zhang, Z.; Zhou, X.; Ren, H.; Tang, S.; Han, X.; Lin, Y.; Wang, D.; Yang, F.; Fang, C.; Fu, Z.; Wang, L.; Zhu, S.; Hou, Y.; Xu, X.; Yang, H.; Wang, J.; Kristiansen, K.; Li, J.; Ji, L.

doi:10.1101/646620

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bioRxiv · 10.1101/646620

Age-dependent sexual dimorphism in the adult human gut microbiota

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Abstract

A decade of studies has established the importance of the gut microbiome in human health. In spite of sex differences in the physiology, lifespan, and prevalence of many age-associated diseases, sex and age disparities in the gut microbiota have been little studied. Here we show age-related sex differences in the adult gut microbial composition and functionality in two community-based cohorts from Northern China and the Netherlands. Consistently, women harbour a more diverse and stable microbial community across broad age ranges, whereas men exhibit a more variable gut microbiota strongly correlated with age. Reflecting the sex-biased age-gut microbiota interaction patterns, sex differences observed in younger adults are considerably reduced in the elderly population. Our findings highlight the age- and sex-biased differences in the adult gut microbiota across two ethnic population and emphasize the need for considering age and sex in studies of the human gut microbiota.

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Zhang, X., Zhong, H., Li, Y., Shi, Z., Zhang, Z., Zhou, X., Ren, H., Tang, S., Han, X., Lin, Y., Wang, D., Yang, F., Fang, C., Fu, Z., Wang, L., Zhu, S., Hou, Y., Xu, X., Yang, H., Wang, J., Kristiansen, K., Li, J., Ji, L.. 2019-05-24. Age-dependent sexual dimorphism in the adult human gut microbiota. https://doi.org/10.1101/646620

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