Microbial insights into cardiometabolic health Exploring diseases of affluence across the omics landscape

This thesis focuses on the role of the gut microbiome in cardiometabolic diseases by investigating multiple -omics modalities. We show that within a large population study in Amsterdam, a shift occurs in the gut microbiome when comparing first- and second-generation migrants. Specific networks of microbes disappear and are replaced by clusters of obesity-related microbes. To address this problem, we also investigate how a beneficial microorganism, called Anaerobutyricum soehngenii, can bring about a mild improvement in glucose metabolism as a clinical intervention. In addition, we further investigated multiple FMT studies at multiple -omics levels. For example, we linked Prevotella ASVs to a change in DNA methylation of the AFAP1 gene. We also investigated which specific strains nest in the intestines and what their potential positive effect is via the metabolites measured in the blood using regularized canonical correlation analysis. We note that engrafment of Collinsella aerofaciens and Fusicatenibacter saccharovorans are correlated to a decrease in blood pressure via a reduction in 2-oxoarginin in plasma.