New method of diagnosing intestinal bacteria developed in Belarus

The intestine is home to millions of bacteria. A few decades ago, humanity knew not so much about the intestinal microbiota. The then available diagnostic methods did not allow to assess the diversity of microorganisms inhabiting the gastrointestinal tract, as a significant proportion of bacteria cannot be grown in artificial conditions.

In recent years, scientists managed to isolate the genetic material of microorganisms from the sample and to decipher it. It has become possible thanks to molecular genetic techniques. It turned out that the composition of the intestinal bacteria is very diverse.

"A healthy intestinal microbiota has long been studied in terms of the prevention of many diseases, since an imbalance of bacteria indicates the cause of a particular pathology. An imbalanced microbiome, known as dysbiosis, is associated with chronic inflammation and can increase the risk of inflammatory bowel disease, autoimmune pathologies and other diseases. However, by influencing the gut microbiome, it is possible to prevent the development of inflammatory reactions," said Ekaterina Skopovets, a junior researcher at the Laboratory of Molecular Genetic Research of the Scientific Department of the National Research Center of Pediatric Oncology, Hematology and Immunology.

Researchers at the center have developed a new molecular genetic diagnostic method that makes it possible to assess the intestinal microbiota for various diseases. With its help, it is possible to find out the full composition of intestinal bacteria, which was previously impossible using the standard laboratory methods. Further research has shown that intestinal bacteria affect the immune status of patients with oncohematological diseases.

"My scientific work was supported by a grant from the President of the Republic of Belarus," said Ekaterina Skopovets. - It is about the development of a new molecular genetic method based on "new generation" high-throughput sequencing. Modern bioinformatic approaches were used in the research. This work points to the possibility of timely diagnosis of dysbiotic conditions and probiotic treatment to populate the gut with the right bacteria".

As the scientist explained, standard bacteriological methods cannot be used to diagnose the composition of intestinal bacteria, as many of them cannot be grown under normal conditions. At the same time, molecular genetic methods, which involve working with bacterial DNA, allow for a more extensive evaluation of the composition of the microbiota. "Conventional culture studies identify only certain bacteria, but our method allows us to establish the ratio of all microorganisms: how many of them are present in relation to each other," she explained.

The diagnostic results are taken into account when treating patients with cancer, hematologic diseases and primary immunodeficiencies.