Gut metagenome in healthy Austrian adults by methane emission
Cross-sectional study of 29 stool samples from healthy Austrian adults, comparing high versus low breath methane emitters to examine links between archaeome, microbiome function, metabolome and diet. machine-written summary
29 samples · 29 runs · AT · Adult · 2021 · 3.04 Gbp / sample
Checked this project's papers and archive records yourself? Mark it human-verified.
what each source gave
| ✓ Sequence archive | 145 sample values (collection date, country, latitude, location region, longitude) |
| ✓ Abstract / description | 58 sample values (health condition, health condition detail) |
| ✓ Full text | 29 sample values (antibiotic exposure) · PMC12121994, PMC8464155 |
| ○ Supplementary tables | files read; no table could be matched to the samples |
| – External resources | not covered by the external resources we ingest |
| – User contribution | nothing uploaded yet |
| – Human verified | not yet checked by a person · I checked this project — verify it |
Genera, mean relative abundance over 28 profiled gut samples of this project (Sandpiper SingleM profiles, GTDB R232; low-depth and non-metagenome profiles left out).
| field | samples | coverage | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| age_category | 29 | 100% | ||||
| country | 29 | 100% | 29 | |||
| health_condition | 29 | 100% | 29 | |||
| subject_id | 0 | 0% | ||||
| antibiotic_exposure | 29 | 100% | 29 | |||
| collection_date | 29 | 100% | 29 | |||
| detailed_location | 29 | 100% | ||||
| health_condition_detail | 29 | 100% | 29 | |||
| latitude | 29 | 100% | 29 | |||
| location_region | 29 | 100% | 29 | |||
| longitude | 29 | 100% | 29 |
- Reduced B12 uptake and increased gastrointestinal formate are associated with archaeome-mediated breath methane emission in humans. 2021 PMID 34560884 PMC8464155 own_data
- Enterotype-stratified gut microbial signatures in MASLD and cirrhosis based on integrated microbiome data. 2025 PMID 40444006 PMC12121994 own_data
Archive description
Methanogenic archaea, such as Methanobrevibacter smithii, are responsible for methane production in the human gastrointestinal tract (also detectable in breath). Approx. 20% of the European population exhales methane above 5 ppm, however, the underlying principles and reasons for high or low methane emission, and their effect on human health and disease are unknown. Herein, we focus on the differences in microbiome profile, microbial functions, metabolome and dietary habits of low and high methane producers within a cohort of 100 healthy participants between 18-37 years. We obtained the following datasets: microbiome and archaeome profile of stool samples from all 100 participants (amplicon-based 16S rRNA gene sequencing), methane-breath analysis of all 100, metagenomic and metabolomic information of stool samples from 30 matched participants, detailed dietary questionnaire of all participants. In this study, we were able to link human methane emission (CH4 value: 5-75 ppm) to a 1000-fold increase of M. smithii (representing about 2% of the microbial community). M. smithii co-occurred with a specific bacterial community specialized on dietary fibre degradation, including Ruminococcaceae and Christensenellaceae. Methane-production was negatively affected by high vitamin B12 and fat intake of the subjects, and correlated with increased formate concentrations within the gastrointestinal tract.
How this project entered the registry
Classified as human gut / stool shotgun DNA metagenome of adult by sonnet_x2 with confidence 0.75. Assay shotgun_dna.
- host study.description · “human gastrointestinal tract”
- body site study.description · “microbiome profile of stool samples”
- life stage study.description · “100 healthy participants between 18-37 years”
Evidence examples (one per field × route)
| sample | field | value | route | conf. | source | quote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAMEA7707442 | antibiotic_exposure | no | R3 | 0.70 | paper.fulltext.methods | had taken antibiotics within the preceding 3 months |
| SAMEA7707442 | collection_date | 2018 | R1 | 0.90 | biosample.attribute:collection_date | 2018 |
| SAMEA7707442 | country | AT | R1 | 0.90 | sample.attr.geographic_location_country_and_or_sea | Austria |
| SAMEA7707442 | health_condition | healthy_control | R4 | 0.50 | study.description | cohort of 100 healthy participants |
| SAMEA7707442 | health_condition_detail | healthy participants | R4 | 0.50 | study.description | cohort of 100 healthy participants |
| SAMEA7707442 | latitude | 47.0797 | R1 | 0.90 | biosample.attribute:geographic_location_latitude+geographic_location_longitude | 47.0796751 15.4203249 |
| SAMEA7707442 | location_region | Styria | R1 | 0.60 | biosample.attribute:geographic_location_latitude+geographic_location_longitude | 47.0796751 15.4203249 |
| SAMEA7707442 | longitude | 15.4203 | R1 | 0.90 | biosample.attribute:geographic_location_latitude+geographic_location_longitude | 47.0796751 15.4203249 |
Sequencing
29 runs over 29 samples · mean 2.88 Gbp per run (median 3.04 Gbp, total 83.57 Gbp; 29 runs with a base count) · layout PAIRED 29 · platform ILLUMINA 29 · models HiSeq X Ten (29) · 97% of runs with a Sandpiper profile · first public 2021-02-10
Authors (18)
Kumpitsch C first · Fischmeister FPS · Mahnert A · Lackner S · Wilding M · Sturm C · Springer A · Madl T · Holasek S · Högenauer C · Berg IA · Schoepf V · Moissl-Eichinger C last · Yuan H first · Zhou J · Wu X · Wang S · Park S last
Downloads
PRJEB41867.csv.gz (1.6 KB) · parquet (70.7 KB) — all 29 samples, every field with route and confidence · PRJEB41867_determinations.csv.gz (1.9 KB) — 232 evidence rows