Such studies are important in light of possible role of gut microbiota in the modulation of efficacy of oral vaccines ( Valdez et al., 2014). Studies in past few years have highlighted discernible patterns of gut microbiota and microbiome in geographically separated populations ( Mueller et al., 2006 De Filippo et al., 2010 Nam et al., 2011 Yatsunenko et al., 2012). These projects and other related studies have generated wealth of information suggesting a link between gut microbiota and their genomic capabilities in maintenance of general wellbeing ( Cho and Blaser, 2012) and also in highly specialized functions such as development of the immune system ( Chung et al., 2012), neurodevelopmental disorders ( Hsiao et al., 2013), and xenobiotic metabolism ( Maurice et al., 2013).

The physiological diversity of gut microbiota and its role in human health has been an inspiration for the initiation of elite projects such as Human Microbiome Project (HMP Turnbaugh et al., 2007) and Metagenomics of the Human Intestinal Tract (MetaHIT) project ( Qin et al., 2010). The gut microbial ecosystem is known to be governed by ecological and evolutionary forces ( Ley et al., 2006) and is often controlled by secretions from the host at intestinal epithelium-microbiota interface such that beneficial microbes are maintained ( Schluter and Foster, 2012). Our study indicates urgent need of identification of population specific microbiome biomarkers of Indian subpopulations to have more holistic view of the Indian gut microbiome and its health implications. Our metagenomic imputation indicates higher potential for glycan biosynthesis and xenobiotic metabolism in these subjects. Further, when compared with other non-human primates, it appears that Indians share more OTUs with omnivorous mammals. Distinctive feature of Indian gut microbiota is the predominance of genus Prevotella and Megasphaera. While the gut microbiome of Indians is different from that of Americans, it shared high similarity to individuals from the Indian subcontinent i.e., Bangladeshi. Based on large differences in alpha diversity indices, abundance of 11 bacterial phyla and individual specific OTUs, we report inter-individual variations in gut microbial communities of these subjects. The present study describes gut microbial communities of healthy Indian subjects and compares it with the microbiota from other populations. Indian population is one of the most ethnically, culturally, and geographically diverse, but the gut microbiome features remain largely unknown. For devising microbiome-based therapies, it is crucial to identify population specific features of the gut microbiome. It is influenced by different factors such as age, dietary habits, socio-economic status, geographic location, and genetic makeup of individuals. The gut microbiome has varied impact on the wellbeing of humans.

6Department of Gastroenterology and Human Nutrition, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.

5Department of Anthropology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, India.

4Vadu Rural Health Program, KEM Hospital Research Centre, Pune, India.

3Diabetes Unit, KEM Hospital Research Centre, Pune, India.

2Microbial Culture Collection, National Centre for Cell Sciences, Savitribai Phule Pune University campus, Pune, India.

1Department of Zoology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, India.

Kumbhare 2, Ashwini Gawali 2, Hemal Makhani 2, Mohit Navandar 2, Dhiraj Dhotre 2, Himangi Lubree 3, Dhiraj Agarwal 4, Rutuja Patil 4, Shantanu Ozarkar 5, Saroj Ghaskadbi 1, Chittaranjan Yajnik 3, Sanjay Juvekar 4, Govind K. Shetty 2†, Rahul Shelar 2, Sachin Mane 2, Shreyas V. Shrikant Bhute 1‡, Pranav Pande 2 ‡, Sudarshan A.

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