Microbiome Features Associated with Performance Measures in Non-Athletic and Athletic Individuals

The influence of human gut microbiota on health and disease is now well established. Therefore, it is not surprising that microbiome research has found applications within the sports community, hoping to improve health and optimize performance. Every comparison study found new species or pathways that were more enriched in elites than in sedentary controls. In addition, sport-specific and performance-level-specific microbiome features have been identified. However, the results remain inconclusive and indicate the need for further assessment. In our study, we conducted two interventions, anaerobic (Wingate Anaerobic Tests (WAnTs)) and aerobic (Bruce Treadmill Test), on fit non-athletic but physically active controls and athletic strength (training professional sports which increase anaerobic efforts such as weightlifting, powerlifting, and bodybuilding) and endurance (training professional sports which increase aerobic efforts such as race walking, long-distance running, or ski running) individuals to compare sport-specific and training-specific responses. While we did not identify any differences in alpha and beta diversity or significant differential abundance of microbiome components at baseline, we noted that one-third of the species identified were unique to either group. Longitudinal analysis of samples (pre- and post-intervention) revealed an abundance of Alistipes communis in the strength group during the WAnT intervention and 88 species with notable differences between groups during the Bruce Test intervention. SparCC recognized Bifidobacterium longum and Bifidobacterium adolescentis, short-chain fatty acid producers with probiotic properties, as species strongly associated with VO2max. Ultimately, we identified several taxa with different baseline abundances and longitudinal changes when comparing individuals based on their VO2max, average power, and maximal power parameters. Our results confirmed the health status of the individuals involved in the study, based on previous assumptions about microbiome health. Furthermore, our findings indicate that microbiome features are associated with better performance measures previously identified in elite athletes.