Author
Nan Qin
Other affiliations: Beijing Genomics Institute, Zhejiang University
Bio: Nan Qin is an academic researcher from Tongji University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Microbiome & Gut flora. The author has an hindex of 25, co-authored 56 publications receiving 14816 citations. Previous affiliations of Nan Qin include Beijing Genomics Institute & Zhejiang University.
Topics: Microbiome, Gut flora, Medicine, Metagenomics, Population
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
More filters
••
TL;DR: The Illumina-based metagenomic sequencing, assembly and characterization of 3.3 million non-redundant microbial genes, derived from 576.7 gigabases of sequence, from faecal samples of 124 European individuals are described, indicating that the entire cohort harbours between 1,000 and 1,150 prevalent bacterial species and each individual at least 160 such species.
Abstract: To understand the impact of gut microbes on human health and well-being it is crucial to assess their genetic potential. Here we describe the Illumina-based metagenomic sequencing, assembly and characterization of 3.3 million non-redundant microbial genes, derived from 576.7 gigabases of sequence, from faecal samples of 124 European individuals. The gene set, ~150 times larger than the human gene complement, contains an overwhelming majority of the prevalent (more frequent) microbial genes of the cohort and probably includes a large proportion of the prevalent human intestinal microbial genes. The genes are largely shared among individuals of the cohort. Over 99% of the genes are bacterial, indicating that the entire cohort harbours between 1,000 and 1,150 prevalent bacterial species and each individual at least 160 such species, which are also largely shared. We define and describe the minimal gut metagenome and the minimal gut bacterial genome in terms of functions present in all individuals and most bacteria, respectively
9,268 citations
••
TL;DR: The gut microbiome in liver cirrhosis is characterized by comparing 98 patients and 83 healthy control individuals and on the basis of only 15 biomarkers, a highly accurate patient discrimination index is created and validated on an independent cohort, suggesting microbiota-targeted biomarkers may be a powerful tool for diagnosis of different diseases.
Abstract: Liver cirrhosis occurs as a consequence of many chronic liver diseases that are prevalent worldwide. Here we characterize the gut microbiome in liver cirrhosis by comparing 98 patients and 83 healthy control individuals. We build a reference gene set for the cohort containing 2.69 million genes, 36.1% of which are novel. Quantitative metagenomics reveals 75,245 genes that differ in abundance between the patients and healthy individuals (false discovery rate < 0.0001) and can be grouped into 66 clusters representing cognate bacterial species; 28 are enriched in patients and 38 in control individuals. Most (54%) of the patient-enriched, taxonomically assigned species are of buccal origin, suggesting an invasion of the gut from the mouth in liver cirrhosis. Biomarkers specific to liver cirrhosis at gene and function levels are revealed by a comparison with those for type 2 diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease. On the basis of only 15 biomarkers, a highly accurate patient discrimination index is created and validated on an independent cohort. Thus microbiota-targeted biomarkers may be a powerful tool for diagnosis of different diseases. Invasion of the gut by oral bacteria in liver cirrhosis. Previous work has revealed an association between liver complications such as cirrhosis and the gut microbiome. Lanjuan Li and colleagues undertook a microbiome-wide association study of stool samples from 98 liver cirrhosis patients and 83 healthy controls. Quantitative metagenomics analysis revealed 75,245 genes that were significantly different in abundance between the two groups, many of which could be grouped into 66 clusters that represent cognate bacterial species. Of these, 28 species were enriched in liver cirrhosis patients and most were of buccal origin (mostly Veillonella and streptococci). The identified markers were unique liver cirrhosis-specific genes and the authors identify a set of just 15 of these genes that could form the basis of a highly accurate discrimination index that could be used as a diagnostic tool.
1,542 citations
••
University of Southern Denmark1, University of Minnesota2, Beijing Normal University3, China Agricultural University4, Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research5, University of Wisconsin-Madison6, Wageningen University and Research Centre7, Chinese Academy of Sciences8, Renmin University of China9, Gyeongsang National University10, Aarhus University11, University of Copenhagen12, South China University of Technology13
TL;DR: This study establishes that five of the cucumber's seven chromosomes arose from fusions of ten ancestral chromosomes after divergence from Cucumis melo, and identifies 686 gene clusters related to phloem function.
Abstract: Cucumber is an economically important crop as well as a model system for sex determination studies and plant vascular biology. Here we report the draft genome sequence of Cucumis sativus var. sativus L., assembled using a novel combination of traditional Sanger and next-generation Illumina GA sequencing technologies to obtain 72.2-fold genome coverage. The absence of recent whole-genome duplication, along with the presence of few tandem duplications, explains the small number of genes in the cucumber. Our study establishes that five of the cucumber's seven chromosomes arose from fusions of ten ancestral chromosomes after divergence from Cucumis melo. The sequenced cucumber genome affords insight into traits such as its sex expression, disease resistance, biosynthesis of cucurbitacin and 'fresh green' odor. We also identify 686 gene clusters related to phloem function. The cucumber genome provides a valuable resource for developing elite cultivars and for studying the evolution and function of the plant vascular system.
1,289 citations
••
Chinese Academy of Sciences1, Fudan University2, Shanghai Jiao Tong University3, Kunming Institute of Zoology4, Shenzhen University5, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding6, Wellcome Trust7, University of Toronto8, University of California, Berkeley9, Southeast University10, University of Hong Kong11, Sun Yat-sen University12, University of Vienna13, Cardiff University14, Comenius University in Bratislava15, Sichuan University16, South China University of Technology17, University of Copenhagen18, University of Alberta19, University of Washington20
TL;DR: Using next-generation sequencing technology alone, a draft sequence of the giant panda genome is generated and assembled, indicating that its bamboo diet might be more dependent on its gut microbiome than its own genetic composition.
Abstract: Using next-generation sequencing technology alone, we have successfully generated and assembled a draft sequence of the giant panda genome. The assembled contigs (2.25 gigabases (Gb)) cover approximately 94% of the whole genome, and the remaining gaps (0.05 Gb) seem to contain carnivore-specific repeats and tandem repeats. Comparisons with the dog and human showed that the panda genome has a lower divergence rate. The assessment of panda genes potentially underlying some of its unique traits indicated that its bamboo diet might be more dependent on its gut microbiome than its own genetic composition. We also identified more than 2.7 million heterozygous single nucleotide polymorphisms in the diploid genome. Our data and analyses provide a foundation for promoting mammalian genetic research, and demonstrate the feasibility for using next-generation sequencing technologies for accurate, cost-effective and rapid de novo assembly of large eukaryotic genomes.
1,109 citations
••
TL;DR: A high level of linkage disequilibrium in the soybean genome is identified, suggesting that marker-assisted breeding of soybean will be less challenging than map-based cloning and to facilitate future breeding and quantitative trait analysis.
Abstract: We report a large-scale analysis of the patterns of genome-wide genetic variation in soybeans. We re-sequenced a total of 17 wild and 14 cultivated soybean genomes to an average of approximately ×5 depth and >90% coverage using the Illumina Genome Analyzer II platform. We compared the patterns of genetic variation between wild and cultivated soybeans and identified higher allelic diversity in wild soybeans. We identified a high level of linkage disequilibrium in the soybean genome, suggesting that marker-assisted breeding of soybean will be less challenging than map-based cloning. We report linkage disequilibrium block location and distribution, and we identified a set of 205,614 tag SNPs that may be useful for QTL mapping and association studies. The data here provide a valuable resource for the analysis of wild soybeans and to facilitate future breeding and quantitative trait analysis.
936 citations
Cited by
More filters
•
TL;DR: It is suggested that the natural selection against large insertion/deletion is so weak that a large amount of variation is maintained in a population.
11,521 citations
••
TL;DR: The Human Microbiome Project Consortium reported the first results of their analysis of microbial communities from distinct, clinically relevant body habitats in a human cohort; the insights into the microbial communities of a healthy population lay foundations for future exploration of the epidemiology, ecology and translational applications of the human microbiome as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The Human Microbiome Project Consortium reports the first results of their analysis of microbial communities from distinct, clinically relevant body habitats in a human cohort; the insights into the microbial communities of a healthy population lay foundations for future exploration of the epidemiology, ecology and translational applications of the human microbiome.
8,410 citations
•
TL;DR: The Human Microbiome Project has analysed the largest cohort and set of distinct, clinically relevant body habitats so far, finding the diversity and abundance of each habitat’s signature microbes to vary widely even among healthy subjects, with strong niche specialization both within and among individuals.
Abstract: Studies of the human microbiome have revealed that even healthy individuals differ remarkably in the microbes that occupy habitats such as the gut, skin and vagina. Much of this diversity remains unexplained, although diet, environment, host genetics and early microbial exposure have all been implicated. Accordingly, to characterize the ecology of human-associated microbial communities, the Human Microbiome Project has analysed the largest cohort and set of distinct, clinically relevant body habitats so far. We found the diversity and abundance of each habitat’s signature microbes to vary widely even among healthy subjects, with strong niche specialization both within and among individuals. The project encountered an estimated 81–99% of the genera, enzyme families and community configurations occupied by the healthy Western microbiome. Metagenomic carriage of metabolic pathways was stable among individuals despite variation in community structure, and ethnic/racial background proved to be one of the strongest associations of both pathways and microbes with clinical metadata. These results thus delineate the range of structural and functional configurations normal in the microbial communities of a healthy population, enabling future characterization of the epidemiology, ecology and translational applications of the human microbiome.
6,350 citations
••
TL;DR: The need to consider the microbiome when evaluating human development, nutritional needs, physiological variations and the impact of westernization is underscored, as distinctive features of the functional maturation of the gut microbiome are evident in early infancy as well as adulthood.
Abstract: Gut microbial communities represent one source of human genetic and metabolic diversity. To examine how gut microbiomes differ among human populations, here we characterize bacterial species in fecal samples from 531 individuals, plus the gene content of 110 of them. The cohort encompassed healthy children and adults from the Amazonas of Venezuela, rural Malawi and US metropolitan areas and included mono- and dizygotic twins. Shared features of the functional maturation of the gut microbiome were identified during the first three years of life in all three populations, including age-associated changes in the genes involved in vitamin biosynthesis and metabolism. Pronounced differences in bacterial assemblages and functional gene repertoires were noted between US residents and those in the other two countries. These distinctive features are evident in early infancy as well as adulthood. Our findings underscore the need to consider the microbiome when evaluating human development, nutritional needs, physiological variations and the impact of westernization.
6,047 citations
••
[...]
TL;DR: A new CD-HIT program accelerated with a novel parallelization strategy and some other techniques to allow efficient clustering of such datasets to reduce sequence redundancy and improve the performance of other sequence analyses is developed.
Abstract: Summary: CD-HIT is a widely used program for clustering biological sequences to reduce sequence redundancy and improve the performance of other sequence analyses. In response to the rapid increase in the amount of sequencing data produced by the next-generation sequencing technologies, we have developed a new CD-HIT program accelerated with a novel parallelization strategy and some other techniques to allow efficient clustering of such datasets. Our tests demonstrated very good speedup derived from the parallelization for up to ~24 cores and a quasi-linear speedup for up to ~8 cores. The enhanced CD-HIT is capable of handling very large datasets in much shorter time than previous versions.
Availability: http://cd-hit.org.
Contact: [email protected]
Supplementary information:Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
5,959 citations