THDMI The Human Diet & Microbiome Initiative

“The Human Diets & Microbiome Initiative” (THDMI) aims at understanding the influence of different diets and lifestyles on our gut microbiome. To this end, this link is being investigated in different geographic regions and has already been done in the US, the UK, and Mexico. This year the initiative reaches Spain with the collaboration of the research group of Yolanda Sanz at IATA-CSIC (Spanish National Research Council) in Valencia.

This study is under the umbrella of a global microbiome action “The Microsetta Initiative” (TMI), which also embraces the American Gut Project and British Gut Project and more, and is led by Rob Knight, at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). UCSD receives funds for THDMI from Danone Research.

The study will involve Spanish adults willing to contribute to this important initiative by providing a stool sample and information on diet and lifestyle. Volunteers will become citizen scientists interested in learning about the uniqueness of their microbiomes and participating in this fascinating initiative. The stool sample will be used to analyze the microbiome by sequencing the DNA of the set of microbes living in the gut. The dietary data will be used to analyze the daily intake of energy, macronutrients and micronutrients, and other dietary components. The analysis will not be done for diagnostic purposes. Researchers from Y Sanz’s lab at IATA-CSIC (Ana Larroya, Verónica Tolosa, and Marta Olivares) will work closely with Rob Knight’s lab to link diet and lifestyle to the composition and function of the microbiome. The campaign is already showing great success and we expect the spots to be taken within one week.

We hope that this unprecedented initiative shed lights on how different diets and lifestyles shape the gut microbiome and feed our bacteria across different regions in the world.

Check out these links for more information on the study: