Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42163161›Full record

ArticleBMC psychiatry2026

Complex correlations between mitochondrial DNA variants and gut microbiome in major depressive disorder: a genome-wide association analysis.

Xuan Guan, Xiao-Ling Shen, Yan-Ni Hao, Zai-Quan Dong, Jian-Min Chen

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Article in BMC psychiatry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Xuan GuanSchool of Basic Medical Sciences, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China.
Xiao-Ling ShenMental Health Center, National Center for Mental Disorders, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Yan-Ni HaoMental Health Center, National Center for Mental Disorders, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Zai-Quan DongMental Health Center, National Center for Mental Disorders, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China. zaiquandong@scu.edu.cn.
Jian-Min ChenSchool of Basic Medical Sciences, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China. chenjmorange@163.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundGut microbiota disturbances and impaired mitochondrial function are both linked with the development of major depressive disorder (MDD). However, little is known about how they interact in MDD.

methodsWe used shotgun metagenomic sequencing to explore fecal microbiome based on 63 MDD patients and 30 healthy controls (HCs). Then we performed GWAS for the discriminative taxonomic features of gut microbiota to identify genetic associations between gut microbiome and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in MDD.

resultsCharacteristic gut microbiome-based features, including significant differences in gut microbiota composition and 101 differentially enriched gut microbial species, were found in MDD group vs. HC group. 68 mitochondrial single-nucleotide polymorphisms (mtSNPs) shared between the two groups were identified through GWAS at a Bonferroni-corrected significance level of p < 0.05. The genetic variants and their associated gut microbes were mapped to mitochondrial genome, most of which were located in coding regions, including MT-ND, MT-ND4L, MT-ND5, MT-ND6; MT-CO, MT-CO3; MT-RNR, MT-RNR, and MT-TE. Manhattan plots showed 9 mtSNPs in MDD group and 10 mtSNPs in HC group were associated with 20 gut microbial species at a significance of -log10(p) >20. Furthermore, Sankey diagram was used to visualize the relationships of gut microbiota and mtDNA. 36 mtSNPs (-log10(p) >5) were shown to be associated with 54 gut microbes in crosslinked patterns.

conclusionsThe current findings provide substantial evidence that complex interactions between gut microbiota and mtDNA contribute to MDD, which enables a better understanding of MDD pathogenesis and suggests new leads for future investigations. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: ChiCTR2000029703. Registration Date: Feb. 9

Indexed as

DNA, MitochondrialGastrointestinal MicrobiomeMajor Depressive DisorderAdultCase-Control StudiesFecesFemaleGenome-Wide Association StudyHumansMaleMiddle AgedPolymorphism, Single NucleotideDNA, MitochondrialGenome-wide association analysis studyGut microbiomeMajor depression disorderMitochondrial DNAMitochondrial single nucleotide polymorphismsShotgun metagenomic sequencing

Identifiers

PMID42163161
PMCPMC13366882

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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.