Two Key Actinomycetota Taxa in the Human Gut Microbiota are Associated withSchistosoma mansoniInfection Burden

In this study, we sought to identify key microbial taxa associated with human gut dysbiosis duringS. mansoniinfection and whether the changes are linked to the intensity of helminth infection. Stool samples were obtained from 20 persons infected with schistosomiasis and an equal number of uninfected persons from an endemic rural community in Ghana. Infection intensity was scored as egg count per gram (EPG) using the Kato-Katz method. Positive stool samples were further stratified as low-moderate (<400 EPG, n=15) and high (>400 EPG, n=5) infection burden. The composition and diversity of the gut microbiota and potential microbial markers associated withS. mansoniinfection intensity were determined from 16S rRNA amplicon sequence analyses. No difference in ß-diversity was observed between positives and negatives (PERMANOVA: R²= 0.012,p= 0.723), although there was an increased abundance ofBifidobacterium(p= 0.008) in infected stool samples compared to the negatives. Further analyses showed thatBifidobacterium(p= 0.003) andCollinsella(p= 0.029) were elevated considerably among the low-moderate infected samples, while the pathobiontEscherichia-Shigellawas reduced (p= 0.0078). Our findings show that intestinal schistosomiasis results in human gut microbiota dysbiosis, which is only distinguished when the intensity of infection is considered, with two keyActinomycetotaspecies assuming importance depending on the infection burden.