{
  "abstract": "Background School-age children are at a critical period of growth and development and an important stage in the formation of dietary habits. Dietary patterns play a vital role in children’s health by changing the composition of gut microbiota. This project aims to investigate the composition difference of gut microbial diversity in school-age children preferring to take plant-based or animal-based food.Methods A total of 39 school-aged children were recruited in this study and their dietary preferences were investigated through a food frequency questionnaire, which categorized them into two groups preferring plant-based (n=19) or animal-based foods (n=20). Morning stools were collected from the study participants, and fecal DNA was extracted, amplified and analyzed by sequencing the children’s gut microbiota using Illumina Miseq high-throughput sequencing (16S rDNA) technology.Results The plant-based group was associated with increased α-diversity assessed by the Shannon ( P <0.01) and Simpson (P<0.01) index. The dominant microbial genus in children’s gut sequentially belonged to Bacteroides, Faecalibacterium and Prevotella. Furthermore, a significant increase in Coprococcus, Butyricimonas and Akkermansia was observed in the plant-based group at the genus level (P<0.05). In addition, the PCoA showed a significant increase in β-diversity in the plant-based group compared to the animal-based group (ANOSIM test, P<0.01).Conclusions This study preliminarily revealed the differences in gut microbial diversity among school-age children preferring plant-based or animal-based food. The preference for animal-based food intake may significantly reduce the abundance and diversity of gut microbiota in school-age children. (Acknowledgements: Undergraduate Training Program for Innovation and Entrepreneurship of SMU, China, No. S202212121134)",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Microbiology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, China"
      ],
      "name": "Jinhu Zou"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, China"
      ],
      "name": "Yafei Li"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Department of Microbiology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, China"
      ],
      "name": "Hong Cao"
    }
  ],
  "title": "IDDF2026-ABS-0011 Dietary preference for plant- or animal-based foods alters gut microbiota composition and diversity in school-age children",
  "uid": "79799fb2-448f-5e8e-9733-cb96a3748a33"
}