RESUMEN
Accumulating evidence suggests that interactions between the brain and gut microbiota significantly impact brain function and mental health. In the present study, we aimed to investigate whether young, healthy adults without psychiatric diagnoses exhibit differences in metabolic stool and microbiota profiles based on depression/anxiety scores and heart rate variability (HRV) parameters. Untargeted nuclear magnetic resonance-based metabolomics was used to identify fecal metabolic profiles. Results were subjected to multivariate analysis through principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), and the metabolites were identified through VIP score. Metabolites separating asymptomatic and symptomatic groups were acetate, valine, and glutamate, followed by sugar regions, glutamine, acetone, valerate, and acetoacetate. The main metabolites identified in high vagal tone (HVT) and low vagal tone (LVT) groups were acetate, valerate, and glutamate, followed by propionate and butyrate. In addition to the metabolites identified by the PLS-DA test, significant differences in aspartate, sarcosine, malate, and methionine were observed between the groups. Levels of acetoacetate were higher in both symptomatic and LVT groups. Valerate levels were significantly increased in the symptomatic group, while isovalerate, propionate, glutamate, and acetone levels were significantly increased in the LVT group. Furthermore, distinct abundance between groups was only confirmed for the Firmicutes phylum. Differences between participants with high and low vagal tone suggest that certain metabolites are involved in communication between the vagus nerve and the brain.
RESUMEN
Mangroves are ecosystems located in tropical and subtropical regions of the world and are vital for coastal protection. Their unique characteristics make them hotspots for carbon cycling and biological diversity. Studies on isolated filamentous fungi and environmental and anthropogenic factors that influence sediments offer new understandings on how to preserve mangroves. Here we report on the filamentous fungi isolated from four mangroves. We correlated fungal community composition with sediment texture, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons concentration (oil pollution), pH, salinity, organic matter, total and thermotolerant coliforms (sewage pollution). In total we identified 34 genera and 97 species. The most polluted sites had highest species richness whereas the best preserved site showed the lowest species richness. Oil spill and sewage pollution were identified as the drivers of fungal community composition in the most polluted sites. We found very distinct fungal communities with no >5 species shared between any two mangrove sites.