Flora Colonoscopy Twin Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Flora Colonoscopy Twin Study: Genetic Transmission of Components of the Human Microbiome
IRAS ID
160429
Contact name
Tim Spector
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The human gut harbours 500-1000 microbial species. These microbes and their collective genetic material make up the human gut microbiome. The human microbiome is mostly composed of bacteria and confers a number of benefits to the host including protection from pathogens and enhanced nutrition, but there is evidence that alterations in microbial communities is associated with health outcomes and some chronic illnesses involving the gut. There may also be links between the microbiome and host genetic variation, suggesting that the microbiome may have a heritable component.
We aim to determine and quantify the heritable differences in the composition of the microbiome and to understand the biological processes that link the microbiome to its host by comparing microbiome variation to human genetic variation, epigenetics and gene expression, and metabolite data. We will also test for links between microbiome variation and health outcomes.
We are already doing this using microbiome samples from the faeces, skin, nose and mouth in the cohort participating in the Flora Twin Study. We intend to extend this work in a subset of this cohort (100 twin pairs) by characterising the variability of the genetic composition of the microbiome in samples from several sites inside the gut taken by colonoscopy, and in caecal fluid and faeces, to gain a phylogenetic representation of human gut microbial diversity and a measure of gut microbiome variability.
The heritability of the human gut microbiome will be estimated by comparing microbiome variability between monozygotic and dizygotic twins. Further analyses will look at which regions of the human genome are associated with microbiome variability and compare microbiome variability to phenotype data to identify potential links between the presence of specific microbes in complex disease. To understand underlying pathways we will explore the links between the microbiome, human epigenetics and gene expression, and metabolite data.
REC name
London - London Bridge Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/1984
Date of REC Opinion
26 Jun 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion