Gastric microbiota and Helicobacter pylori in Indonesian population

Background: The profile of gastric mucosal microbiota has not yet been described in
the Indonesian population where the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori is low.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional study analyzing 16S rRNA of 137 gastric biopsy
specimens. We analyzed the association between gastric microbiota, H. pylori infec-
tion, and gastric mucosal damage.
Result: Among 137 analyzed samples, 27 were H. pylori-positive and 110 were H.
pylori -negative based on culture, histology, and 16S rRNA gene analysis. Significantly
lower α-diversity parameters, including Pielou's index, was observed in H. pylori-in-
fected individuals compared with noninfected individuals (all P < .001). Among H.
pylori-negative individuals, the permutational analysis of variance of Bray-Curtis dis-
similarity distances showed a significant association with different ethnicities, sug-
gesting some ethnic groups had specific microbiota profiles based on the presence
of different operational taxonomic units. The linear discriminant analysis effect size
(LEfSe) of the H. pylori-negative group showed significant associations between the
presence of Micrococcus luteus and Sphingomonas yabuuchiae with Timor and Papuan
ethnicities, respectively. The presence of Bulledia sp and Atopobium sp was associated
with the Javanese ethnicity. We observed lower α-diversity scores in individuals with
gastric mucosal damage and profiles with high abundances of Paludibacter sp and
Dialister sp based on LEfSe analysis.