Associations between Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) Polymorphisms and Gut Microbiota in a Spanish Population Sample

Abstract

This study examined the association between genetic variations in the Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) gene and the composition of gut microbiota in a Spanish population. The VDR gene plays a role in mediating the effects of vitamin D on gut microbiota composition. We analyzed 87 healthy participants from the Spanish Caucasian population and found that the genetic variations were in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. Through metataxonomic sequencing, we identified that the GG genotype from the VDR polymorphism rs731236 seems to be associated with the opportunistic genus Solobacterium, indicating that genetic variations may influence the composition of gut microbiota.

Keywords

• Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) polymorphisms
• gut microbiota
• Spanish population
• rs2731236
• Lefse