Poster Presentation Australian Microbial Ecology Conference 2024

Assessing the impact of zinc supplementation on the gut microbiome of children in Bangladesh (#25)

Imadh Abdul Azeez 1 2 , Marilou H Barrios 1 2 , Rory Bowden 1 2 , Sant-Rayn Pasricha 1 2 , Christine Mcdonald 3 , Janet Peerson 4 , Munirul Islam 5 , Aaron Jex 1 2
  1. WEHI, Parkville, VIC, Australia
  2. Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
  3. University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States
  4. University of California, Davis, Davis, California, United States
  5. International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh

The gut microbiome consists of a broad spectrum of microbial species which plays a crucial role in an individual’s overall health. Many parameters may impact these gut microbiome profiles, including certain aspects of nutrition. This includes micronutrients, which are necessary for healthy growth and development and are often used in supplements to combat micronutrient deficiency. Zinc is an important micronutrient which has roles as a co-factor in over 30% of enzymes and maintains gut lumen fluid balance. Despite the widespread use of zinc supplements to combat zinc deficiency in children from countries like Bangladesh, the impact on the gut microbiome has not been fully explored. To investigate this, we used the Randomised Placebo-Controlled Zinc in Powders Trial (ZiPT), which involves 142 children between 9-12 months in age in Bangladesh, who were allocated into three different treatment arms; 1) Zinc powder treatment, 2) Multiple Micronutrient Powder treatment group, and 3) A placebo powder. Stool swabs were collected before and six months after treatment. Using short-read sequencing, we profiled the microbiome of each participant through metagenomics and metatranscriptomic analysis. Our preliminary results show significant differences in the activity in several functional pathways in the metatranscriptome, between the three trial arms. Most of these pathways produce secondary metabolites contributing to human health. These findings provide valuable insight into the dynamics of the gut microbiome with zinc supplementation and may inform future application of zinc supplementation.