Gut microbiome composition reveals the distinctiveness between the Bengali people and the Indigenous ethnicities in Bangladesh

Abstract Ethnicity has a significant role in shaping the composition of the gut microbiome, which has implications in human physiology. This study intends to investigate the gut microbiome of Bengali people as well as several indigenous ethnicities (Chakma, Marma, Khyang, and Tripura) residing in the Chittagong Hill Tracts areas of Bangladesh. Following fecal sample collection from each population, part of the bacterial 16 s rRNA gene was amplified and sequenced using Illumina NovaSeq platform. Our findings indicated that Bangladeshi gut microbiota have a distinct diversity profile when compared to other countries. We also found out that Bangladeshi indigenous communities had a higher Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio than the Bengali population. The investigation revealed an unclassified bacterium that was differentially abundant in Bengali samples while the genus Alistipes was found to be prevalent in Chakma samples. Further research on these bacteria might help understand diseases associated with these populations. Also, the current small sample-sized pilot study hindered the comprehensive understanding of the gut microbial diversity of the Bangladeshi population and its potential health implications. However, our study will help establish a basic understanding of the gut microbiome of the Bangladeshi population.