Dietary Fiber-Induced Improvement in Glucose Metabolism Is Associated with Increased Abundance of Prevotella

• Prevotella/Bacteroides is associated with a beneficial response to barley kernels
• Prevotella-enriched microbial interactions are higher in barley kernel responders
• Prevotella protects against Bacteroides-induced glucose intolerance
• Prevotella promotes increased hepatic glycogen storage in mice

SummaryThe gut microbiota plays an important role in human health by interacting with host diet, but there is substantial inter-individual variation in the response to diet. Here we compared the gut microbiota composition of healthy subjects who exhibited improved glucose metabolism following 3-day consumption of barley kernel-based bread (BKB) with those who responded least to this dietary intervention. The Prevotella/Bacteroides ratio was higher in responders than non-responders after BKB. Metagenomic analysis showed that the gut microbiota of responders was enriched in Prevotella copri and had increased potential to ferment complex polysaccharides after BKB. Finally, germ-free mice transplanted with microbiota from responder human donors exhibited improved glucose metabolism and increased abundance of Prevotella and liver glycogen content compared with germ-free mice that received non-responder microbiota. Our findings indicate that Prevotella plays a role in the BKB-induced improvement in glucose metabolism observed in certain individuals, potentially by promoting increased glycogen storage.

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