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

B-维生素是一组水溶性维生素，在碳水化合物、氨基酸和脂肪代谢的众多酶反应中扮演辅助因子的角色。虽然这些微量营养素的代谢作用已被充分了解，但新的功能仍在不断被发现。其中一个新兴领域是B-维生素在肠道微生物区系-宿主关系中的作用。肠道微生物群合成了一些B型维生素；然而，这些细菌合成的维生素中的很大一部分被非生产型肠道细菌消耗。因此，宿主可以获得有限数量的细菌产生的B族维生素。因此，饮食中B族维生素的供应对于满足主人的日常需求是必不可少的。此外，当这些维生素的外部供应稀缺时，很可能会损害肠道微生物区系的生长和增殖。肠道微生物谱的不平衡有可能损害宿主的代谢反应。这项研究计划调查饮食中B-维生素的新作用，特别是那些与一碳代谢相关的维生素，如维生素B6、B9(叶酸)和B12，在调节肠道微生物谱以及它们对宿主代谢的影响方面，包括肠道完整性、免疫和大脑功能。我们将使用代谢组学的方法进一步研究宿主和微生物代谢物如何由于维生素B缺乏而发生变化。这项研究计划将确定B-维生素在肠道微生物生态的动态平衡中的关键作用，并将进一步发现这种微量营养素在连接肠道和宿主代谢方面的新功能。此外，这项研究计划将培训HQP在技术(如先进的生物分析、肠道微生物图谱、代谢组学和多元统计)和专业技能方面的培训，以满足他们在研究、学术和工业领域的职业生涯。

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.