Call for partners: FiberMe - Fibre microbiome response prediction

Unravel fibre microbiome responses

The human gut microbiome has a major impact on our health. More and more mechanistic studies are uncovering how fibre-rich diets influence the gut microbiota diversity, composition and metabolic output. But which types of fibre are best for each person's gut health? Not all fibre is created equal! Thanks to the advent of metagenomic sequencing, many of the carbohydrate-active enzymes (cazymes) of the human gut microbiome have been identified. However, the substrate specificity of these enzymes to different fibres (e.g. prebiotics, fibres and (designer) glycans), as well as the role of different gut microbes in the breakdown of these fibres, and the resulting beneficial substances produced, have not been elucidated. This integrated knowledge is essential to enable tailored health-supporting dietary fibre advises.

AI for fibre response prediction

The goal of this project is to predict the human microbiome response to dietary fibres by making use of ArtificiaI Intelligence (AI), and its validation in a human clinical trial setting. In this project we will focus on:

• Insights into the metabolic fate of dietary fibres/glycans/oligosaccharides by the human microbiome will be generated (in vitro and in vivo), focusing on carbohydrate active enzymes, glycobiology, prebiotic properties and health-promoting metabolites
• Development of an AI-fuelled model to predict the microbiome response to dietary fibres
• Proof of concept study showing the in vivo validity of the developed AI model, e.g. proofing whether a specific fibre displays the anticipated stimulation of a targeted phylogenetic/microbiome-derived metabolite

This project will help select the appropriate fibres for targeted health benefits to guide product formulation.

Excited to join us?

This consortium is especially relevant for:

• Companies working in the fibre/glycan/oligosaccharide/prebiotic industry
• Companies creating a fibre side-stream of unknown quality and microbiome functionality while working e.g. on the isolation of plant-derived proteins, lipids or generating fruit-juice
• Food companies interested in improving the fibre composition of their products, to specifically target the gastrointestinal microbiota
• Health companies interesting in improving human health by targeting specific bacterial group or metabolic functions of the gastrointestinal microbiome linked to human health
• Pharmaceutical companies knowing that dietary fibre impacts the efficiency of their drugs, but not knowing how to improve this further with proprietary ingredients