Disparate Metabolic Responses in Mice Fed a High-fat Diet Supplemented with Maize-derived Non-digestible Feruloylated Oligo- and Polysaccharides are Linked to Changes in the Gut Microbiota

Scope: Studies have suggested links between colonic fermentation of dietary fibers and improved metabolic health. The objectives of this study were to determine if non-digestible feruloylated oligo- and polysaccharides (FOPS), a maize-derived dietary fiber, could counteract the deleterious effects of high-fat (HF) feeding in mice and explore if metabolic benefits were linked to the gut microbiota. Methods and results: C57BL/6J mice (n=8/group) were fed a low-fat (LF; 10 kcal% fat), HF (62 kcal% fat), or HF diet supplemented with FOPS (5%, w/w). Pronounced differences in FOPS responsiveness were observed: four mice experienced cecal enlargement and enhanced short chain fatty acid production, indicating increased cecal fermentation (F-FOPS). Only these mice displayed improvements in glucose metabolism compared with HF-fed mice. Blooms in the gut microbial genera Blautia and Akkermansia were observed in three of the F-FOPS mice; these shifts were associated with reductions in body and adipose tissue weights compared with the HF-fed control mice. No improvements in metabolic markers or weights were detected in the four mice whose gut microbiota did not respond to FOPS. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that FOPS-induced improvements in weight gain and metabolic health in mice depended on the ability of an individual’s microbiota to ferment FOPS. Here, we provide the Fasta data of our sequece obtained from the study. Y1-Y24 are the sequence file of the mice gut microbiota from baseline (n=24); Y25-Y48 are the sequence file of the mice gut microbiota after one week of introducing FOPS (n=24); Y49-Y72 are the sequence file of the mice gut microbiota at the end of the study at 8 week (n=24).