ABSTRACT

Aims:
Emerging evidence implicates the gut microbiota in type 2 diabetes (T2D) development and their association with multiple host factors. This study aimed to explore the differences in gut microbiota between T2D patients and non-diabetic controls, and to estimate the relationship between host factors and specific microbial signatures in T2D.

Methods:
16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed on fecal samples from 508 T2D patients and 1,538 controls in a Chinese population.

Results:
We observed significant differences in microbial composition and diversity between T2D and controls, with 20 microbial signatures associated with T2D. Microbial co-occurrence networks revealed that T2D patients exhibited a distinct microbiome signatures pattern. Random forest models incorporating these microbial signatures and covariates improved accuracy of T2D classification. Furthermore, geographic region, diet habits of different staple food sources and coffee drinking habit, and common comorbidities, such as hypertension, were associated with specific microbial signatures.

Conclusions:
Our study highlights the potential role of gut microbiota in T2D pathogenesis and provides clues that specific microbial signatures may serve as biomarkers for T2D diagnosis and personalized management in Chinese populations. The findings indicate that modifiable factors including dietary factors, living regions and common comorbidities may influence the gut microbiota, thereby affecting T2D development.

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