Nebraska Food for Health Seminar Series Speaker - Dr. Tajuki Yamada

The Nebraska Food for Health Center is hosting their regular Food for Health Seminar Series on December 2, 2021 at 6pm CST.  The featured speaker is Dr. Takuji Yamada who will be presenting on "Metagenomic and metabolomic analyses reveal distinct stage- specific phenotypes of the gut microbiota in colorectal cancer".  This will be a virtual presentation.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) worldwide affects over a quarter of a million people each year. Human gut microbiome has been associated with CRC development, and its comprehensive characterization is of great importance to assess its potential as a diagnostic marker. We performed whole shotgun metagenomic sequencing and metabolomic studies on fecal samples collected from 616 participants undergoing colonoscopy to assess taxonomic and functional characteristics of gut microbiota and metabolites. As a result, microbiome and metabolite shifts were apparent in cases of multiple polypoid adenomas (MP) and Stage 0, in addition to more advanced lesions. Two distinct patterns of microbiome elevations were found. First, CRC-associated species including Fusobacterium nucleatum were elevated continuously from Stage 0 to more advanced stages. Second pattern was the elevation of several bacterial species only in MP and/or in Stage 0. Metabolome analyses showed an elevation of branched-chain amino acids and phenylalanine in Stage 0. Our study indicates possible etiological and diagnostic significance of fecal microbiota and metabolite in the very early stages of CRC.

Please join us for this exciting talk!