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

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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.