Should the Faecal Microbiota Composition Be Determined to Certify a Faecal Donor?

• Published in: Diagnostics (Basel) 2024-11, Vol.14 (23), p.2635
• Main Authors: Morales, Celia, Ballestero, Luna, Del Río, Patricia, Barbero-Herranz, Raquel, Olavarrieta, Leticia, Gómez-Artíguez, Leticia, Galeano, Javier, Avendaño-Ortiz, José, Basterra, Juan, Del Campo, Rosa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 16S rDNA; Bacteria; Bioinformatics; Biological diversity; Body mass index; Care and treatment; Certification; Clostridium infections; Drug resistance; Evaluation; faecal microbiota transplantation; Health aspects; Health care industry; human microbiome; Infectious diseases; Licensing, certification and accreditation; Medical history; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Metabolism; Methicillin; Microbiota; Microbiota (Symbiotic organisms); Organ donors; Pathogens; Questionnaires; RNA sequencing; Staphylococcus infections
• ISSN: 2075-4418; 2075-4418
• DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics14232635

Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is considered a safe and effective therapy for recurrent infection. It is the only current clinical indication for this technique, although numerous clinical research studies and trials propose its potential usefulness for treating other pathologies. Donor selection is a very rigorous process, based on a personal lifestyle interview and the absence of known pathogens in faeces and serum, leading to only a few volunteers finally achieving the corresponding certification. However, despite the high amount of data generated from the ongoing research studies relating microbiota and health, there is not yet a consensus defining what is a "healthy" microbiota. To date, knowledge of the composition of the microbiota is not a requirement to be a faecal donor. The aim of this work was to evaluate whether the analysis of the composition of the microbiota by massive sequencing of 16S rDNA could be useful in the selection of the faecal donors. Samples from 10 certified donors from Mikrobiomik Healthcare Company were collected and sequenced using 16S rDNA in a MiSeq (Illumina) platform. Alpha (Chao1 and Shannon indices) and beta diversity (Bray-Curtis) were performed using the bioinformatic web server Microbiome Analyst. The differences in microbial composition at the genera and phyla levels among the donors were evaluated. The microbial diversity metric by alpha diversity indexes showed that most donors exhibited a similar microbial diversity and richness, whereas beta diversity by 16S rDNA sequencing revealed significant inter-donor differences, with a more stable microbial composition over time in some donors. The phyla and were predominant in all donors, while the density of other phyla, such as and , varied among individuals. Each donor exhibited a characteristic genera distribution pattern; however, it was possible to define a microbiome core consisting of the genera UCG-014 and Conclusions: The results suggest that donor certification does not need to rely exclusively on their microbiota composition, as it is unique to each donor. While one donor showed greater microbial diversity and richness, clear criteria for microbial normality and health have yet to be established. Therefore, donor certification should focus more on clinical and lifestyle aspects.