Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Biology

Committee Chair

Shawn Brown

Committee Member

Bernie Daigle

Committee Member

Marie van der Merwe

Abstract

Diet plays a large role in maintaining a healthy gut microbiome, which impacts many aspects of human health. Sweet potatoes contain high levels of resistant starches and dietary fiber which healthy gut microorganisms can metabolize. We tested if daily sweet potato consumption for thirty days shifts gut prokaryotic communities and the phylogenetic diversity of short chain fatty acid (SCFA) functional genes. Selected functional genes are known to be important for human health associated with butyrate and propionate production pathways. To do so, we collected fecal samples from healthy adult volunteers, before and after daily sweet potato consumption and conducted metabarcoding using a combination of Fluidigm microfluidic access arrays and Illumina NovoSeq targeting prokaryotic 16S regions, and the functional genes associated with butyrate and propionate production Our results indicate that key gut taxa and the gut microbiome experience a protracted response, where regular consumption can prime conditions to facilitate these shifts.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest.

Notes

Open Access

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