Objective To investigate the effects of cured meat products on the gut microbiota of mice based on high-throughput sequencing technology. Methods Mice were randomly divided into 3 groups, with half male and half female. Each group consisted of 12 mice, including the control group, the low-dose group, and the high-dose group, and feeding for a period of time. The feces and intestinal content of mice were collected for microbial structure research, and the effects of consuming cured meat on the gut microbiota of mice was analyzed. Results There was no significant difference in total bacterial count between the control group and the experimental group (P>0.05), however the changes in the number of Gram negative bacterial colonies and Gram positive bacterial colonies were significant (P<0.05). The number of lactic acid bacteria in the high-dose group showed significant changes (P<0.05), while the low-dose group had no significant changes (P>0.05). The high-throughput sequencing analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) in the gut microbiota of mice showed that the alpha diversity of the gut microbiota in the high-dose group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05) starting from the 4th week of the experiment, and starting from 12th week, that of the low-dose group also began to decrease significantly. The types of bacteria that changed in the gut microbiota of mice in the high-dose and low-dose groups were almost the same, with an increase in the proportion of Gram positive bacteria, an increase in the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and Spirochetes, and a decrease in the relative abundance of Lactobacillus. Starting from the 4th week of the experiment, there were differences in metabolic pathways between each group of mice in terms of glucose metabolism, amino acid metabolism, protein metabolism, etc. The differences were self-compensated at the 8th week, and significant differences were observed between the high-dose and low-dose groups and the control group at the 12th week (P<0.05). The differences between the high-dose and low-dose groups increased. Conclusion Continuous intake of cured meat products can change the structure and composition of the gut microbiota, cause imbalance in the gut microbiota structure, and alter the colonization of beneficial and harmful microbiota in the intestine of mice, which may be related to the induction of intestinal diseases.
| 科 Family | 属数 Number of genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) | 属 Genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 鹅膏菌科Amanitaceae | 2 | 11 | 5.26 | 鹅膏菌属 Amanita | 10 | 4.78 |
| 小菇科 Mycenaceae | 2 | 12 | 5.74 | 丝盖伞属 Inocybe | 5 | 2.39 |
| 多孔菌科 Polyporaceae | 8 | 14 | 6.70 | 蜡蘑属 Laccaria | 5 | 2.39 |
| 红菇科 Russulaceae | 3 | 23 | 11.00 | 小皮伞属 Marasmius | 6 | 2.87 |
| 小菇属 Mycena | 11 | 5.26 | ||||
| 光柄菇属 Pluteus | 5 | 2.39 | ||||
| 红菇属 Russula | 17 | 8.13 | ||||
| 栓菌属 Trametes | 5 | 2.39 |