The human gut microbiome of athletes: metagenomic and metabolic insights

Federico Fontana, Giulia Longhi, Chiara Tarracchini, Leonardo Mancabelli, Gabriele Andrea Lugli, Giulia Alessandri, Francesca Turroni, Christian Milani, Marco Ventura

The correlation between the physical performance of athletes and their gut microbiota has become of growing interest in the past years, since new evidences have emerged regarding the importance of the gut microbiota as a main driver of the health status of athletes. In addition, it has been postulated that the metabolic activity of the microbial population harbored by the large intestine of athletes might influence their physical performances. Here, we analyzed 418 publicly available shotgun metagenomics datasets obtained from fecal samples of healthy athletes and healthy sedentary adults. This study evidenced how agonistic physical activity and related lifestyle can be associated with the modulation of the gut microbiota composition, inducing modifications of the taxonomic profiles with an enhancement of gut microbes able to produce short-fatty acid (SCFAs). In addition, our analyses revealed a correlation between specific bacterial species and high impact biological synthases (HIBSs) responsible for the generation of a range of microbially driven compounds such vitamin B12, amino acidic derivatives, and other molecules linked to cardiovascular and age-related health-risk reduction. Notably, our findings show how subsist an association between competitive athletes, and modulation of the gut microbiota, and how this modulation is reflected in the potential production of microbial metabolites that can lead to beneficial effects on human physical performance and health conditions. Video Abstract.