Investigating novel roles of B-vitamins in gut-host interactions

B族维生素是一组水溶性维生素，在碳水化合物、氨基酸和脂肪代谢中的无数酶促反应中充当辅因子。虽然这些微量营养素的代谢作用是很好的理解，新的功能不断被发现。其中一个新兴领域是B族维生素在肠道微生物-宿主关系中的作用。肠道微生物群合成一些B族维生素;然而，这些细菌合成的维生素中的很大一部分被非生产者肠道细菌消耗。因此，宿主只能获得有限数量的细菌产生的B族维生素。因此，B族维生素的饮食供应对于满足宿主的日常需求至关重要。此外，当这些维生素的外部供应稀缺时，可能会损害肠道微生物群的生长和增殖。肠道微生物分布的不平衡有可能损害宿主的代谢反应。这项研究计划调查了膳食B族维生素的新作用，特别是与一碳代谢相关的维生素B6，B 9（叶酸）和B12，在调节肠道微生物概况及其对宿主代谢的影响，包括肠道完整性，免疫和大脑功能。我们将使用代谢组学方法进一步研究宿主和微生物代谢物如何由于B族维生素缺乏而发生变化。这项研究计划将建立B族维生素在肠道微生物生态稳态中的关键作用，并将进一步发现这些微量营养素在连接肠道与宿主代谢方面的新功能。此外，该研究计划将在技术（如先进的生物测定，肠道微生物分析，代谢组学和多元统计）和专业技能方面培训HQP，这些技能是他们在研究，学术界和工业界的职业生涯所需的。

B-vitamins, a group of water-soluble vitamins, act as cofactors in a myriad of enzymatic reactions involved in carbohydrate, amino acid, and fat metabolism. Although the metabolic roles of these micronutrients are well understood, novel functions continue to be discovered. One such emerging area is the role of B-vitamins in the gut microbiota-host relationship. The gut microbiota synthesizes some of the B-vitamins; however, a large portion of these bacterially synthesized vitamins are consumed by non-producer gut bacteria. Therefore, a limited amount of bacterially produced B-vitamins is available for the host. As such, a dietary supply of B-vitamins is essential to meet the host's daily requirements. Furthermore, when the external supply of these vitamins is scarce, it is likely to impair the growth and the proliferation of the gut microbiota. An imbalance in gut microbial profile has the potential to impair host metabolic reactions. This research program investigates novel roles of dietary B-vitamins, specifically those associated with one-carbon metabolism, such as vitamin B6, B9 (folate) and B12, in regulating the gut microbial profile and their impact on host metabolism, including gut integrity, immune and brain functions. We will further investigate how host and microbial metabolites change due to B-vitamin deficiencies using a metabolomics aproach. This research program will establish crucial roles of B-vitamins in the homeostasis of gut microbial ecology, and will further discover novel functions of such micronutrients in linking gut with host metabolism. Additionally, this research program will train HQP in both technical (such as advanced bioassays, gut microbial profiling, metabolomics, and multivariate statistics) and professional skills needed for their careers in research, academia and industry.