PREBIOTIC EFFECT OF YACÓN FLOUR (Smallanthus sonchifolius) ON THE GUT MICROBIOME AND BEHAVIOUR OF Magtm1Rod/J mice

ROMINA P. LANCETTI; GABRIELA T. PEREZ; MARA MATTALLONI; PABLO LOPEZ; EMILIANO SALVUCCI

virtual

Congreso; XVI CONGRESO ARGENTINO DE MICROBIOLOGÍA GENERAL SAMIGE; 2021

SAMIGE

Yacón (Smallanthus sonchifolius) is an annual herbaceous Andean plant whose fleshy root and leaves have been consumed since pre-Inca times. The tuber of this species is known to be a source of phenolic compounds and β (2-1) fructooligosaccharides (FOS). FOS are small soluble dietary fibers that exhibit prebiotic activity by stimulating the growth and activity of a limited number of beneficial bacteria in the colon. Alterations or dysbiosis of this microbiome can affect human health and it is known to be associated to different diseases including autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In experimental models of ASD multiple studies have reported that dysbiosis in microbiota and its metabolites can affect social behaviour through the gut-brain axis. Mice lacking Myelin-associated glycoprotein expression (Mag-null, mn), a minor component of myelin, were recently observed to express an altered social behavioral phenotype compatible with ASD. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prebiotic effect in vivo of yacón flour by comparing the gut microbiota from Mag-null strain (mn) with wild type C57BL6J (wt) and its effect on social behavior. Immediately after weaning (P21), mice were divided into 4 groups: wild type fed with standard diet (wtc), wild type fed with 10% yacon flour-supplemented diet (wty), Mag-null fed with standard diet (mnc) and Mag-null fed with 10% yacon flour-supplemented diet (mny). Sociability and preference for social novelty behavior were evaluated by the three-chamber social test. For microbiome analysis, fecal content samples were taken at the beginning and at the end of the experiment for total DNA extraction and subsequent 16s rRNA sequencing. We observed that Mag-null mice treated with yacón-supplemented diet showed improvement in social behavior characterized by increased sociability and increased preference for a novel mice (p <0.05). Microbiome analysis shows that alpha diversity of the bacterial communities increase significatively in mny fed with yacón-supplemented diet when compared to mnc (p <0.05). In wt, control diet increased significatively alpha diversity in contrast to mice fed with supplemented diet. Beta diversity dissimilarity showed that the bacterial communities are significantly different between mn and wt strains (p <0.05) regardless of the treatment and time. In conclusion, yacón flour-supplemented diet increases the microbiome alpha diversity in Mag-null mice and improves its social behavior.