ArticleThe ISME journal2017
Large-scale comparative metagenomics of Blastocystis, a common member of the human gut microbiome.
Article in The ISME journal, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 128 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
128 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 201 citations in OpenAlex.
- Meta-analysis of 22,710 human microbiome metagenomes defines an oral-to-gut microbial enrichment score and associations with host health and disease.Nature communications · 2025Pooled it
- Variability of strain engraftment and predictability of microbiome composition after fecal microbiota transplantation across different diseases.Nature medicine · 2022Pooled it
- Association between Blastocystis sp. infection and immunocompromised patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2021Pooled it
- Microbiome connections with host metabolism and habitual diet from 1,098 deeply phenotyped individuals.Nature medicine · 2021Trial
- Blastocystis, an Enigmatic Parasite.Acta parasitologica · 2026Review
- Quantitative detection of gut microbial eukaryotes with EukDetect2 reveals global distribution of commensal protists and association with distinct microbial community structure.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- The diversity of factors influencing human digestive microbiota in healthy adults and their interaction: a scoping review.BMC nutrition · 2026Article
- Interpreting probiotic and combination-therapy studies in Blastocystis.Gut pathogens · 2026Article
- Article
- Blastocystis hominis infection inducing gut microbiome dysbiosis and aggravating Parkinson's disease symptoms: a case report.Journal of medical case reports · 2026Article
- Impact of maternal, infant, and household factors on early-life gut microbiome development in a rural setting.The ISME journal · 2026Article
- Associations and interactions between prokaryotes and other gut biota in non-human primates.Primates; journal of primatology · 2026Review
- Lactobacillus probiotics potential in Blastocystis infection: in vitro and in vivo studies.Gut pathogens · 2025Article
- A Review of Global Patterns in Gut Microbiota Composition, Health and Disease: Locating South Africa in the Conversation.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Commensal, pathogen, or passenger? Rethinking the role ofOne health (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · 2025Review
- Emerging microbiome-directed therapies in inflammatory bowel disease: beyond diet modification and FMT.Seminars in immunopathology · 2025Review
- Evolution and ecology of commensal gut protists: recent advances.Current opinion in genetics & development · 2025Review
- Aspects of Genetic Diversity, Host Specificity and Public Health Significance of Single-Celled Intestinal Parasites Commonly Observed in Humans and Mostly Referred to as 'Non-Pathogenic'.APMIS : acta pathologica, microbiologica, et immunologica Scandinavica · 2025Review
- Extracellular vesicles in intestinal protozoa: hidden mediators of host-parasite communication.Gut pathogens · 2025Review
- Assessing Zoonotic Risks ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
68 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The influence of unicellular eukaryotic microorganisms on human gut health and disease is still largely unexplored. Blastocystis spp. commonly colonize the gut, but its clinical significance and ecological role are currently unsettled. We have developed a high-sensitivity bioinformatic pipeline to detect Blastocystis subtypes (STs) from shotgun metagenomics, and applied it to 12 large data sets, comprising 1689 subjects of different geographic origin, disease status and lifestyle. We confirmed and extended previous observations on the high prevalence the microrganism in the population (14.9%), its non-random and ST-specific distribution, and its ability to cause persistent (asymptomatic) colonization. These findings, along with the higher prevalence observed in non-westernized individuals, the lack of positive association with any of the disease considered, and decreased presence in individuals with dysbiosis associated with colorectal cancer and Crohn's disease, strongly suggest that Blastocystis is a component of the healthy gut microbiome. Further, we found an inverse association between body mass index and Blastocystis, and strong co-occurrence with archaeal organisms (Methanobrevibacter smithii) and several bacterial species. The association of specific microbial community structures with Blastocystis was confirmed by the high predictability (up to 0.91 area under the curve) of the microorganism colonization based on the species-level composition of the microbiome. Finally, we reconstructed and functionally profiled 43 new draft Blastocystis genomes and discovered a higher intra subtype variability of ST1 and ST2 compared with ST3 and ST4. Altogether, we provide an in-depth epidemiologic, ecological, and genomic analysis of Blastocystis, and show how metagenomics can be crucial to advance population genomics of human parasites.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.