Association between gut microbiota and global DNA methylation pattern in subjects with obesity

In this study we demonstrate that the DNA methylation status in both blood and adipose tissue is highly associated to gut microbiota composition in obese subjects Gut microbiota composition was analyzed in DNA stool samples from a cohort of obese subjects by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. 20 patients were selected based on their Bacteroidetes-to-Firmicutes ratio (BFR): HighBFR group (BFR>2.5, n=10); LowBFR group (BFR<1.2, n=10). Genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation pattern in both whole blood and visceral adipose tissue of these selected patients was performed with an Infinium EPIC BeadChip array-based platform.