Co-existence of Network Architectures Supporting the Human Gut Microbiome
Caitlin V. Hall,
Anton Lord,
Richard Betzel,
Martha Zakrzewski,
Lisa A. Simms,
Andrew Zalesky,
Graham Radford-Smith,
Luca Cocchi
Affiliations
Caitlin V. Hall
Clinical Brain Networks Group, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia; School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia; Corresponding author
Anton Lord
Gut Health Lab, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia
Richard Betzel
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
Martha Zakrzewski
Medical Genomics Group, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia
Lisa A. Simms
Gut Health Lab, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia
Andrew Zalesky
Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre and Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia
Graham Radford-Smith
Gut Health Lab, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia
Luca Cocchi
Clinical Brain Networks Group, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia; School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4006, Australia
Summary: Microbial organisms of the human gut microbiome do not exist in isolation but form complex and diverse interactions to maintain health and reduce risk of disease development. The organization of the gut microbiome is assumed to be a singular assortative network, where interactions between operational taxonomic units (OTUs) can readily be clustered into segregated and distinct communities. Here, we leverage recent methodological advances in network modeling to assess whether communities in the human microbiome exhibit a single network structure or whether co-existing mesoscale network architectures are present. We found evidence for core-periphery structures in the microbiome, supported by strong, assortative community interactions. This complex architecture, coupled with previously reported functional roles of OTUs, provides a nuanced understanding of how the microbiome simultaneously promotes high microbial diversity and maintains functional redundancy. : Microbiology; Microbiome; Bioinformatics; Association Analysis Subject Areas: Microbiology, Microbiome, Bioinformatics, Association Analysis