Dylan G Maghini, Ovokeraye H Oduaran, Jakob Wirbel, Luicer A Ingasia Olubayo, Natalie Smyth, Theophilous Mathema, Carl W Belger, Godfred Agongo, Palwendé R Boua, Solomon Sr Choma, F Xavier Gómez-Olivé, Isaac Kisiangani, Given R Mashaba, Lisa Micklesfield, Shukri F Mohamed, Engelbert A Nonterah, Shane Norris, Hermann Sorgho, Stephen Tollman, Floidy Wafawanaka, Furahini Tluway, Michèle Ramsay, Ami S Bhatt, Scott Hazelhurst
Population studies are crucial in understanding the complex interplay between the gut microbiome and geographical, lifestyle, genetic, and environmental factors. However, populations from low- and middle-income countries, which represent ∼84% of the world population, have been excluded from large-scale gut microbiome research. Here, we present the AWI-Gen 2 Microbiome Project, a cross-sectional gut microbiome study sampling 1,803 women from Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. By intensively engaging with communities that range from rural and horticultural to urban informal settlements and post-industrial, we capture population diversity that represents a far greater breadth of the world's population...
March 14, 2024: bioRxiv