Applications of fecal metabolomics for the study of stress and pregnancy

The gut microbiota plays a substantial role in determining the health and behaviour of an individual. The study of this interaction requires tools with a broad, unbiased scope that can analyse both microbial and host activity; fecal metabolomics, the analysis of small-molecule metabolites, is one such method. This thesis will explore several considerations and applications of fecal metabolomics. First, a study comparing methods of sample preparation for fecal metabolomics displays the efficacy of in silico baseline correction combined with a Bligh-Dyer extraction technique. Next, the use of fecal metabolomics and 16S rRNA gene sequencing reveal no effect of prenatal stress on the postpartum maternal gut microbiota. Finally, the clinical applications of metabolomics is presented in a study displaying distinctions between the prenatal urinary metabolomes of obesity and gestational diabetes mellitus, identifying biomarkers of risk. These studies highlight the potential of fecal metabolomics in both research and clinical settings.

Authors

• Scott, Hannah Doris
• University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science

• fecal metabolomics
• gut microbiota
• stress and pregnancy
• nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomics
• 16S rRNA analysis
• Metabolites -- Research
• Feces -- Microbiology -- Research
• Gastrointestinal system -- Microbiology -- Research
• Stress (Physiology) -- Research
• Pregnancy -- Research
• Magnetic resonance imaging
• Biochemical markers -- Research
• Dissertations, Academic

Identifier

hdl:10133/5839

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:opus.uleth.ca:10133/5839