Genetic analysis of seed traits in Sorghum bicolor that affect the human gut microbiome

Qinnan Yang; Mallory Van Haute; Nate Korth; Scott E Sattler; John Toy; Devin J Rose; James C Schnable; Andrew K Benson

doi:10.1038/s41467-022-33419-1

Genetic analysis of seed traits in Sorghum bicolor that affect the human gut microbiome

Nat Commun. 2022 Sep 26;13(1):5641. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-33419-1.

Authors

Qinnan Yang^{1

2}, Mallory Van Haute^{1

2}, Nate Korth^{2

3}, Scott E Sattler^{4

5}, John Toy^{4

5}, Devin J Rose^{1

2

5}, James C Schnable^{2

5

6}, Andrew K Benson^{7

8}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA.
² Nebraska Food for Health Center, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA.
³ Complex Biosystems Graduate Program, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA.
⁴ Wheat, Sorghum and Forage Research Unit, USDA-ARS, Lincoln, NE, USA.
⁵ Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA.
⁶ Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA.
⁷ Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA. abenson1@unl.edu.
⁸ Nebraska Food for Health Center, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA. abenson1@unl.edu.

Abstract

Prebiotic fibers, polyphenols and other molecular components of food crops significantly affect the composition and function of the human gut microbiome and human health. The abundance of these, frequently uncharacterized, microbiome-active components vary within individual crop species. Here, we employ high throughput in vitro fermentations of pre-digested grain using a human microbiome to identify segregating genetic loci in a food crop, sorghum, that alter the composition and function of human gut microbes. Evaluating grain produced by 294 sorghum recombinant inbreds identifies 10 loci in the sorghum genome associated with variation in the abundance of microbial taxa and/or microbial metabolites. Two loci co-localize with sorghum genes regulating the biosynthesis of condensed tannins. We validate that condensed tannins stimulate the growth of microbes associated with these two loci. Our work illustrates the potential for genetic analysis to systematically discover and characterize molecular components of food crops that influence the human gut microbiome.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Crops, Agricultural
Edible Grain / genetics
Gastrointestinal Microbiome* / genetics
Humans
Polyphenols
Proanthocyanidins*
Seeds / genetics
Sorghum* / genetics

Substances

Polyphenols
Proanthocyanidins