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World J Gastroenterol. Nov 21, 2014; 20(43): 16062-16078
Published online Nov 21, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i43.16062
Published online Nov 21, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i43.16062
Archaea and the human gut: New beginning of an old story
Nadia Gaci, William Tottey, Jean-François Brugère, EA-4678 CIDAM, Clermont Université, Université d’Auvergne, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
Guillaume Borrel, Paul William O’Toole, School of Microbiology and Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
Author contributions: Gaci N and Borrel G contributed equally to this work; Gaci N compiled the data concerning methanogens and several human diseases; Borrel G compiled information about the available genomics data and analyzed the presence of the genes coding MtaA, MtaB, MtaC and BSH; Gaci N, Borrel G, Tottey W, O’Toole PW and Brugère JF wrote the paper.
Supported by PhD Scholarship from the French “Ministère de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche” (To Nadia Gaci); Science Foundation Ireland through a postdoctoral grant of the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre (to Guillaume Borrel); PhD Scholarship of the European Union (UE) and the Auvergne Council (FEDER) (to William Tottey); Science Foundation Ireland through a Principal Investigator award and by an FHRI award to the ELDERMET project by the Department Agriculture, Fisheries and Marine of the Government of Ireland (to Paul W O’Toole)
Correspondence to: Jean-François Brugère, PhD, EA-4678 CIDAM, Clermont Université, Université d’Auvergne, 28 Place Henri Dunant, BP 10448, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France. jf.brugere@udamail.fr
Telephone: +33-473-178391 Fax: +33-473-178392
Received: March 13, 2014
Revised: May 14, 2014
Accepted: July 22, 2014
Published online: November 21, 2014
Revised: May 14, 2014
Accepted: July 22, 2014
Published online: November 21, 2014
Core Tip
Core tip: Archaea are naturally occurring components of the human gut microbiota, whose biological significance has been recently reevaluated. In this review, an update of the current knowledge about the archaea from the human gut is provided, integrating the new order of methanogens, Methanomassiliicoccales. By its particular metabolism, this lineage is likely a depleting biological agent of a gut microbiota metabolite from diet implied in cardiovascular disease and trimethylaminuria, trimethylamine. The recent provocative proposal of archaea as a new class of probiotics (archaebiotics) should focus the interest on the third domain of life concerning the gut physiopathology and human health.