Airway microbial communities, smoking and asthma in a general population sample
Background: Normal airway microbial communities play a central role in respiratory health but are poorly characterized. Cigarette smoking is the dominant global environmental influence on lung function, and asthma has become the most prevalent chronic respiratory disease worldwide. Both conditions h...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2021-09-01
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Series: | EBioMedicine |
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Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352396421003315 |
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doaj-31eef8e2707745a6b66a7d9981cb5c47 |
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record_format |
Article |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Elena M. Turek Michael J. Cox Michael Hunter Jennie Hui Phillip James Saffron A.G. Willis-Owen Leah Cuthbertson Alan James A.William Musk Miriam F. Moffatt William O.C.M. Cookson |
spellingShingle |
Elena M. Turek Michael J. Cox Michael Hunter Jennie Hui Phillip James Saffron A.G. Willis-Owen Leah Cuthbertson Alan James A.William Musk Miriam F. Moffatt William O.C.M. Cookson Airway microbial communities, smoking and asthma in a general population sample EBioMedicine Airway microbiome composition population asthma smoking |
author_facet |
Elena M. Turek Michael J. Cox Michael Hunter Jennie Hui Phillip James Saffron A.G. Willis-Owen Leah Cuthbertson Alan James A.William Musk Miriam F. Moffatt William O.C.M. Cookson |
author_sort |
Elena M. Turek |
title |
Airway microbial communities, smoking and asthma in a general population sample |
title_short |
Airway microbial communities, smoking and asthma in a general population sample |
title_full |
Airway microbial communities, smoking and asthma in a general population sample |
title_fullStr |
Airway microbial communities, smoking and asthma in a general population sample |
title_full_unstemmed |
Airway microbial communities, smoking and asthma in a general population sample |
title_sort |
airway microbial communities, smoking and asthma in a general population sample |
publisher |
Elsevier |
series |
EBioMedicine |
issn |
2352-3964 |
publishDate |
2021-09-01 |
description |
Background: Normal airway microbial communities play a central role in respiratory health but are poorly characterized. Cigarette smoking is the dominant global environmental influence on lung function, and asthma has become the most prevalent chronic respiratory disease worldwide. Both conditions have major microbial components that are incompletely defined. Methods: We investigated airway bacterial communities in a general population sample of 529 Australian adults. Posterior oropharyngeal swabs were analyzed by sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. The microbiota were characterized according to their prevalence, abundance and network memberships. Findings: The microbiota were similar across the general population, and were strongly organized into co-abundance networks. Smoking was associated with diversity loss, negative effects on abundant taxa, profound alterations to network structure and expansion of Streptococcus spp. By contrast, the asthmatic microbiota were selectively affected by an increase in Neisseria spp. and by reduced numbers of low abundance but prevalent organisms. Interpretation: Our study shows that the healthy airway microbiota in this population were contained within a highly structured ecosystem, suggesting balanced relationships between the microbiome and human host factors. The marked abnormalities in smokers may contribute to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer. The narrow spectrum of abnormalities in asthmatics encourages investigation of damaging and protective effects of specific bacteria. Funding: The study was funded by the Asmarley Trust and a Wellcome Joint Senior Investigator Award to WOCC and MFM (WT096964MA and WT097117MA). The Busselton Healthy Ageing Study is supported by the Government of Western Australia (Office of Science, Department of Health) the City of Busselton, and private donations. |
topic |
Airway microbiome composition population asthma smoking |
url |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352396421003315 |
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spelling |
doaj-31eef8e2707745a6b66a7d9981cb5c472021-09-25T05:07:59ZengElsevierEBioMedicine2352-39642021-09-0171103538Airway microbial communities, smoking and asthma in a general population sampleElena M. Turek0Michael J. Cox1Michael Hunter2Jennie Hui3Phillip James4Saffron A.G. Willis-Owen5Leah Cuthbertson6Alan James7A.William Musk8Miriam F. Moffatt9William O.C.M. Cookson10National Heart and Lung Institute, Centre for Genomic Medicine, Imperial College London SW3 6LY, United KingdomNational Heart and Lung Institute, Centre for Genomic Medicine, Imperial College London SW3 6LY, United KingdomSchool of Population and Global Health, University of Western Australia, Australia; Busselton Population Medical Research Institute, Western Australia, AustraliaSchool of Population and Global Health, University of Western Australia, Australia; Busselton Population Medical Research Institute, Western Australia, Australia; PathWest Laboratory Medicine, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre, Western Australia, AustraliaNational Heart and Lung Institute, Centre for Genomic Medicine, Imperial College London SW3 6LY, United KingdomNational Heart and Lung Institute, Centre for Genomic Medicine, Imperial College London SW3 6LY, United KingdomNational Heart and Lung Institute, Centre for Genomic Medicine, Imperial College London SW3 6LY, United KingdomBusselton Population Medical Research Institute, Western Australia, Australia; Department of Pulmonary Physiology, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, UWA Medical School, University of Western Australia, AustraliaSchool of Population and Global Health, University of Western Australia, Australia; Busselton Population Medical Research Institute, Western Australia, Australia; Department of Respiratory Medicine Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, UWA Medical School, University of Western Australia, AustraliaNational Heart and Lung Institute, Centre for Genomic Medicine, Imperial College London SW3 6LY, United Kingdom; Corresponding authors.National Heart and Lung Institute, Centre for Genomic Medicine, Imperial College London SW3 6LY, United Kingdom; Corresponding authors.Background: Normal airway microbial communities play a central role in respiratory health but are poorly characterized. Cigarette smoking is the dominant global environmental influence on lung function, and asthma has become the most prevalent chronic respiratory disease worldwide. Both conditions have major microbial components that are incompletely defined. Methods: We investigated airway bacterial communities in a general population sample of 529 Australian adults. Posterior oropharyngeal swabs were analyzed by sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. The microbiota were characterized according to their prevalence, abundance and network memberships. Findings: The microbiota were similar across the general population, and were strongly organized into co-abundance networks. Smoking was associated with diversity loss, negative effects on abundant taxa, profound alterations to network structure and expansion of Streptococcus spp. By contrast, the asthmatic microbiota were selectively affected by an increase in Neisseria spp. and by reduced numbers of low abundance but prevalent organisms. Interpretation: Our study shows that the healthy airway microbiota in this population were contained within a highly structured ecosystem, suggesting balanced relationships between the microbiome and human host factors. The marked abnormalities in smokers may contribute to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer. The narrow spectrum of abnormalities in asthmatics encourages investigation of damaging and protective effects of specific bacteria. Funding: The study was funded by the Asmarley Trust and a Wellcome Joint Senior Investigator Award to WOCC and MFM (WT096964MA and WT097117MA). The Busselton Healthy Ageing Study is supported by the Government of Western Australia (Office of Science, Department of Health) the City of Busselton, and private donations.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352396421003315Airway microbiome composition population asthma smoking |