Clostridia isolated from helminth-colonized humans promote hatching of Trichuris muris

Abstract

Soil transmitted intestinal worms known as helminths colonize over 1.5 billion people worldwide. Although helminth colonization has been associated with altered composition of the gut microbiota, such as increases in Clostridia, individual species have not been isolated and characterized. Here, we isolated and sequenced the genome of 13 Clostridia from the Orang Asli, an indigenous population in Malaysia with high prevalence of helminth infections. Metagenomic analysis of 650 fecal samples from urban and rural Malaysians revealed higher prevalence and abundance of these isolates compared to individuals in the United States, with Peptostreptococcaceae family members displaying a specific association with helminth colonization. Remarkably, Peptostreptococcaceae isolated from the Orang Asli displayed superior capacity to induce hatching of eggs from the murine helminth Trichuris muris. These findings support a model in which helminths select for gut colonization of microbes that in turn support their life cycle by promoting egg hatching.