Gut metagenomes of Asian octogenarians reveal metabolic potential expansion and distinct microbial species associated with aging phenotypes

While rapid demographic changes in Asia are driving the incidence of chronic aging-related diseases, the limited availability of high-quality in vivo data hampers our ability to understand complex multi-factorial contributions, including gut microbial, to healthy aging. Leveraging a well-phenotyped cohort of community-living octogenarians in Singapore, we used deep shotgun-metagenomic sequencing for high-resolution taxonomic and functional characterization of their gut microbiomes ( n = 234). Joint species-level analysis with other Asian cohorts identified distinct age-associated shifts characterized by reduction in microbial richness, and specific Alistipes and Bacteroides species enrichment (e.g., Alistipes shahii and Bacteroides xylanisolvens ). Functional analysis confirmed these changes correspond to metabolic potential expansion in aging towards alternate pathways synthesizing and utilizing amino-acid precursors, vis-à-vis dominant microbial guilds producing butyrate in gut from pyruvate (e.g., Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Roseburia inulinivorans ). Extending these observations to key clinical markers helped identify >10 robust microbial associations to inflammation, cardiometabolic and liver health, including potential probiotic species (e.g., Parabacteroides goldsteinii ) and pathobionts (e.g., Klebsiella pneumoniae ), highlighting the microbiome’s role as biomarkers and potential targets for promoting healthy aging. Here, the authors employ shotgun-metagenomic sequencing to profile the microbiome of Singaporean octogenarians, finding key microbial shifts and metabolic changes in the gut, in particular expanded butyrate production from alternate precursors and identifying microbes linked to health in aging populations.