Western and non-western gut microbiomes reveal new roles of Prevotella in carbohydrate metabolism and mouth-gut axis

The abundance and diversity of host-associated <i>Prevotella</i> species have a profound impact on human health. To investigate the composition, diversity, and functional roles of <i>Prevotella</i> in human gut, a population-wide analysis was carried out on 586 healthy samples from western and non-western populations including the largest Indian cohort comprising of 200 samples, and 189 Inflammatory Bowel Disease samples from western populations. A higher abundance and diversity of <i>Prevotella copri</i> species enriched in complex plant polysaccharides metabolizing enzymes, particularly pullulanase containing polysaccharide-utilization-loci (PUL), were found in Indian and non-western populations. A higher diversity of oral inflammations-associated <i>Prevotella</i> species and an enrichment of virulence factors and antibiotic resistance genes in the gut microbiome of western populations speculates an existence of a mouth-gut axis. The study revealed the landscape of <i>Prevotella</i> composition in the human gut microbiome and its impact on health in western and non-western populations.