- The researchers identified 218 intestinal bacteria associated with colon cancer.
- Analysis at the subspecies offers clearer insights than conventional studies at species level.
- New tools can enable stool-based basis creepers that are faster and less invasive.
Colon cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide, but can be treated at early catch. Unfortunately, many people delay the diagnosis because colonoscopies, the main screening method, are often expensive and uncomfortable. These obstacles have a need for better, less invasive ways to recognize and understand the factors that contribute to colon cancer, including the role of intestinal microbes.
While the latest technological progress has made it easier to examine intestinal microbes, they only identify most methods at species level, with lack of key differences between the tribes within the same type. These differences can affect how microbes work and interact with our health, which makes it more difficult to combine them with diseases such as colon cancer.
In order to tackle this, researchers focused on analysis at the subspecies, the groups of trunks within a species, which can be divisioned specific features or functions and associated with colon cancer. This approach offers a clearer and more detailed understanding of the role of microbiome in health and illness and captures variations that often overlook the analysis at species level. These results were published in Zellwirt & microbe. Let us collapse.
How was this study carried out?
In order to better understand how intestinal bacteria influence health and illness, the researchers created the Humsub catalog, a resource, which organizes intestinal bacteria on subspecies at the level of the subspecies. In contrast to conventional methods that group all tribes together, the Humsub catalog identifies smaller, more precise groups of bacteria, which are referred to as operational subspecies (OSUS) and output the specific features or functions. This approach records important variations that the analysis at species level often misses and offers a clearer and more detailed image of the role of the microbiome in health.
In order to build the catalog, the researchers analyzed a large database with intestinal bacterial genoma, which carefully removed incomplete or contaminated data. They grouped bacteria in operational subspecies by giving their genetic coding sequences together and concentrating on differences that could lead to different characteristics. This method worked in various populations and ensured that the catalog recorded consistent subspecies worldwide and at the same time emphasizes unique features. Using data from intestinal cancer studies, the researchers identified subspecies that were connected to the disease.
What did the study find?
This study showed that bacterial subspecies contain critical information in the human intestinal microbioma that are often overlooked if only the species level are considered. Imagine this: While two bacterial strains of the same kind can belong, you can behave very differently, similar to siblings with completely different personalities.
By analyzing a massive database of intestinal bacteria, the researchers identified over 5,000 subspecies in almost 1,000 species and found that 28% of these species had significant differences on subspecies. These differences could play a major role in health and illness, but they were overlooked in previous research that concentrated only in species as a whole.
The researchers developed a new method to measure relevant subspecies with unique genetic markers. This method was not only very precise, but also faster and more efficient than existing tools. When you apply this approach for intestinal cancer studies, you found 218 subspecies with the disease.
In some cases, only a subspecies within a species were associated with colon cancer, while the siblings or parents were not the case. For example a subspecies of Fusobacterium animis was strongly associated with colon cancer, while another closely related subspecies were not the case. This helps to explain why some studies have reported contradictory results if only the species level is examined. Important details were overlooked.
The study also showed how genetic differences between subspecies could affect health directly. By identifying these subspecies and their unique characteristics, research offers a clearer path to more precise colon cancer diagnostics and targeted treatments, which offers hope for previous detection and better results. Stool samples could play a key role in this process, so that researchers cannot identify an invasive CRC-associated microbes and their characteristics at the subspecies level.
This study provides important insights, but there are some restrictions that have to be taken into account. Some non -functional gene fragments called pseudogenic could have been incorrectly identified as functional genes, even though the researchers appreciate this, this affects less than 0.13% of the genes. The way the genom quality was measured is solid, but not yet a standard method in the field. Finally, some technical restrictions in the analysis of the global subspecies could have to be missed, which means that their prevalence could easily be underestimated. Despite these challenges, the results of the study are still reliable and meaningful.
How does that apply to real life?
Understanding the intestinal microbioma at the level of the subspecies could revolutionize how we approach illnesses such as colon cancer. Why is that important? Since it opens the door to non-invasive, affordable and accessible diagnostic tools such as chair tests that can replace or complement unpleasant interventions such as colonoscopies.
Early cancer detection is of crucial importance for the survival, and this research brings us closer to the identification of specific bacterial subspecies, which signal the presence of colon cancer and potentially capture before the symptoms even occur.
In addition to diagnostics, this deeper understanding of intestinal bacteria could lead to targeted treatments. If certain subspecies contribute to the progression of cancer, therapies could be developed to neutralize or change their behavior. This means that we speak not only about better recognition, but also personalized treatment approaches that could improve the results and save lives.
For everyone who is looking for creeping or less invasive health options, this research is a step towards a future in which intestinal health plays a central role in prevention and care for diseases. Currently currently recommend current guidelines of organizations such as the American Cancer Society Colonoscopy for adults from the age of 45, but on the stool base are often proposed as an alternative for those in which average risk is incapable of intestinal mirroring.
Our expert
This study published in Zellwirt & microbe Marks a groundbreaking step forward when understanding the intestinal microbiome and its connection to colon cancer. By concentrating researchers on the analysis of the Subtaries level, the researchers discovered critical differences in types of bacteria that were able to influence health and illness. They identified over 5,000 subspecies, including 218 associated with colon cancer, and developed a method for measuring these subspecies with high accuracy. It is important that this examination shows that stool samples can be used in order to recognize these subspecies and offer a non-invasive and accessible alternative to conventional screening methods such as colonoscopies to identify intestinal cancer risk.
