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Topical Area: Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins and Minerals (Poster Session)

(P11-052-23) Microbiome Associations With Vitamin B12 Status in Adults

Saturday, July 22, 2023
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET
Location: Poster Board 289

    Presenting Author(s)

  • MR

    Marijke Rittmann, MS (she/her/hers)

    PhD Candidate
    Rutgers University
    New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States

    • Co-Author(s)

  • GW

    Guojon Wu, PhD

    Center for Microbiome, Nutrition, and Health, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology
    Rutgers University
    new brunswick, New Jersey, United States

  • TG

    Tim J. Green, PhD

    Principal Nutritionist
    South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute
    Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

  • EH

    Emily Hanselman, MS, RDN

    Rutgers University
    Kendall Park, New Jersey, United States

  • LZ

    Liping Zhao, PhD

    Center for Microbiome, Nutrition, and Health, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology
    Rutgers University
    New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States

  • Joshua W. Miller, PhD (he/him/his)

    Professor and Chair
    Rutgers University
    New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States

  • YL

    Yan Y. Lam, PhD

    Hong Kong Baptist University

Disclosure(s):
Marijke Rittmann, MS: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Joshua W. Miller, PhD: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.


Objectives: Vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient required for hematological and neurological function. B12 deficiency results in megaloblastic anemia and neurodegenerative disease, and may contribute to cognitive decline and dementia risk in older adults. Human gut microbiotas are able to either synthesize B12 or utilize B12 consumed by hosts. Consequently, variation in gut microbiota may influence B12 status in humans. The purpose of this study is to assess the association between gut microbiota composition and host B12 status.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional cohort study of 92 adults (47 males/45 females; 20-75y) in Sydney, Australia. 16S rRNA gene V3-V4 amplicon sequencing was used to profile gut microbiota at the amplicon sequence variant (ASV) level. Serum total B12 was measured by automated chemiluminescence assay. The Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Dunn’s test were employed to assess the association between B12 tertiles and gut microbial diversity. The PERMANOVA test was used to assess associations between B12 tertiles and overall gut microbiota composition. Microbial guilds were identified based on co-abundance clustering. Spearman correlation was used to explore the association between microbial guilds and B12 status.

Results: Mean serum B12 was 389±177 pmol/L. Shannon index (p=0.010), ASV number (p=0.022), and Faith’s phylogenetic diversity (p=0.048) were directly correlated with increasing B12 tertiles. No associations were observed between B12 tertiles and overall gut microbiota composition. We identified 30 microbial guilds, among which guilds 3 and 15 were directly and inversely correlated with serum B12, respectively (p=0.079).

Conclusions: B12 status is directly associated with gut microbial diversity within adults. In addition, two microbial guilds were identified that are associated with B12 status. Further studies are needed to determine the mechanism underlying the association between B12 status and microbial guilds, and if these findings are reproducible in other human cohorts.

Funding Sources: Busch Biomedical Grant Program (Rutgers University)