Dynamics of Gut Microbiota and Short-Chain Fatty Acids During a Cycling Grand Tour Are Related to Exercise Performance and Modulated by Dietary Intake

Overview

Journal Nutrients

Date 2024 Mar 13

PMID 38474789

Authors

Manuel Fernandez-Sanjurjo

Javier Fernandez

Pablo Martinez-Camblor

Manuel Rodriguez-Alonso

Raquel Ortolano-Rios

Paola Pinto-Hernandez

Juan Castilla-Silgado

Almudena Coto-Vilcapoma

Lorena Ruiz

Claudio J Villar

Cristina Tomas-Zapico

Abelardo Margolles

Benjamin Fernandez-Garcia

Eduardo Iglesias-Gutierrez

Felipe Lombo

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Regular exercise has been described to modify both the diversity and the relative abundance of certain bacterial taxa. To our knowledge, the effect of a cycling stage race, which entails extreme physiological and metabolic demands, on the gut microbiota composition and its metabolic activity has not been analysed.

Objective: The aim of this cohort study was to analyse the dynamics of faecal microbiota composition and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) content of professional cyclists over a Grand Tour and their relationship with performance and dietary intake.

Methods: 16 professional cyclists competing in La Vuelta 2019 were recruited. Faecal samples were collected at four time points: the day before the first stage (A); after 9 stages (B); after 15 stages (C); and on the last stage (D). Faecal microbiota populations and SCFA content were analysed using 16S rRNA sequencing and gas chromatography, respectively. A principal component analysis (PCA) followed by Generalised Estimating Equation (GEE) models were carried out to explore the dynamics of microbiota and SCFAs and their relationship with performance.

Results: , , , and dynamics showed a strong final performance predictive value (r = 0.83, ranking, and r = 0.81, accumulated time). Positive correlations were observed between with acetate (r = 0.530) and isovalerate (r = 0.664) and between with isobutyrate (r = 0.682). No relationship was observed between SCFAs and performance. The abundance of at the beginning of La Vuelta was directly related to the previous intake of complex-carbohydrate-rich foods (r = 0.956), while during the competition, the abundance of was negatively affected by the intake of simple carbohydrates from supplements (r = -0.650).

Conclusions: An ecological perspective represents more realistically the relationship between gut microbiota composition and performance compared to single-taxon approaches. The composition and periodisation of diet and supplementation during a Grand Tour, particularly carbohydrates, could be designed to modulate gut microbiota composition to allow better performance.

Citing Articles

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PMID: 39221163 PMC: 11362084. DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1418778.

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