Genetic Epidemiology, Translational Neurogenomics, Psychiatric Genetics and Statistical Genetics Laboratories investigate the pattern of disease in families, particularly identical and non-identical twins, to assess the relative importance of genes and environment in a variety of important health problems.
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PMID
11051362
TITLE
Shared and unique environmental factors determine the ecology of methanogens in humans and rats.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE NlmCategory: OBJECTIVE
This study ascertains the relative contributions of genetics and environment in determining methane emission in humans and rats. There is considerable interest in the factors determining the microbial species that inhabit the colon. Methanogens. which are archaebacteria, are an easily detected colonic luminal bacteria because they respire methane. They are present in some but not all human colons and lower animal hindguts. Opinion varies on the nature of the factors influencing this ecology with some studies proposing the existence of host genetic influences.
METHODS NlmCategory: METHODS
Methane emission was measured in human twin pairs by gas chromatography, and structural equation modeling was used to determine the proportion of genetic and environmental determinants. The importance of the timing of environmental effects and rat strain on the trait of methane emission were ascertained by experiments with cohabiting methanogenic and nonmethanogenic rats.
RESULTS NlmCategory: RESULTS
Analysis of breath samples from 274 adolescent twin pairs and their families indicated that the major influences on the trait of methane emission are the result of shared (53%, 95% confidence interval 39-61) and unique environmental (47%, 95% confidence interval 38-56) effects. No significant autosomal genetic effects were detected, but as observed in other studies, men (37%) were less likely to excrete methane in their breath than women (63%). Investigation of methane emission in rats indicated that environmental effects in this animal are most potent during the weaning period, with stable gut microbial ecology thereafter for some but not all rat strains.
CONCLUSIONS NlmCategory: CONCLUSIONS
These results are consistent with shared and unique environmental factors being the main determinants of the ecology of this colonic microbe.
DATE PUBLISHED
2000 Oct
HISTORY
PUBSTATUS PUBSTATUSDATE
pubmed 2000/10/29 11:00
medline 2001/02/28 10:01
entrez 2000/10/29 11:00
AUTHORS
NAME COLLECTIVENAME LASTNAME FORENAME INITIALS AFFILIATION AFFILIATIONINFO
Florin TH Florin T H TH Department of Medicine, University of Queensland and Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Brisbane, Australia.
Zhu G Zhu G G
Kirk KM Kirk K M KM
Martin NG Martin N G NG
INVESTIGATORS
JOURNAL
VOLUME: 95
ISSUE: 10
TITLE: The American journal of gastroenterology
ISOABBREVIATION: Am. J. Gastroenterol.
YEAR: 2000
MONTH: Oct
DAY:
MEDLINEDATE:
SEASON:
CITEDMEDIUM: Print
ISSN: 0002-9270
ISSNTYPE: Print
MEDLINE JOURNAL
MEDLINETA: Am J Gastroenterol
COUNTRY: United States
ISSNLINKING: 0002-9270
NLMUNIQUEID: 0421030
PUBLICATION TYPE
PUBLICATIONTYPE TEXT
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Twin Study
COMMENTS AND CORRECTIONS
GRANTS
GENERAL NOTE
KEYWORDS
MESH HEADINGS
DESCRIPTORNAME QUALIFIERNAME
Adolescent
Animals
Breath Tests
Colon microbiology
Euryarchaeota physiology
Feces chemistry
Female chemistry
Genotype chemistry
Humans chemistry
Male chemistry
Methane analysis
Rats analysis
Rats, Inbred Strains analysis
Social Environment analysis
Weaning analysis
SUPPLEMENTARY MESH
GENE SYMBOLS
CHEMICALS
REGISTRYNUMBER NAMEOFSUBSTANCE
OP0UW79H66 Methane
OTHER ID's