Comparison of Brain Microbiome between Humans and Mice 

Presenter

Erika Mata

Campus

Westfield State University

Sponsor

Mao-Lun Weng, Department of Biology, Westfield State University

Schedule

Session 4, 2:30 PM - 3:15 PM [Schedule by Time][Poster Grid for Time/Location]

Location

Poster Board A23, Campus Center Auditorium, Row 2 (A21-A40) [Poster Location Map]

Abstract

The presence of a brain microbiome, comprising a diverse community of microorganisms within the central nervous system, has emerged as an area of growing interest in neuroscience. In previous years, the brain was thought to be a sterile environment, within which no microbial populations can grow. Recent studies show that microbiota are not only present within the brain, but have mechanisms of action which are potentially linked to neurotransmitter GABA regulation. In this study, we employed amplicon sequencing with single-nucleotide resolution through DADA2, which used 16S rRNA sequencing to assign taxonomy to the microbiota within the sample specimen brains. The software PICRUSt2 (Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States) was utilized to predict functional abundances of the microbiota based on 16S gene marker sequences within the specimens. Through the analysis of microbial DNA extracted from brain tissue samples, we aimed to elucidate the composition and potential functions of the brain microbiome in these two species.

Keywords

brain, gene profiling, microbiome

Research Area

Biological Organisms

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