Long noncoding RNA expression profiles in gut tissues constitute molecular signatures that reflect the types of microbes

The gut microbiota is commonly referred to as a hidden organ due to its pivotal effects on host physiology, metabolism, nutrition and immunity. The gut microbes may be shaped by environmental and host genetic factors, and previous studies have focused on the roles of protein-coding genes. Here we show a link between long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) expression and gut microbes. By repurposing exon microarrays and comparing the lncRNA expression profiles between germ-free, conventional and different gnotobiotic mice, we revealed subgroups of lncRNAs that were specifically enriched in each condition. A nearest shrunken centroid methodology was applied to obtain lncRNA-based signatures to identify mice in different conditions. The lncRNA-based prediction model successfully identified different gnotobiotic mice from conventional and germ-free mice, and also discriminated mice harboring transplanted microbes from fecal samples of mice or zebra fishes. To achieve optimal prediction accuracy, fewer lncRNAs were required in the prediction model than protein-coding genes. Taken together, our study demonstrated the effecacy of lncRNA expression profiles in discriminating the types of microbes in the gut. These results also provide a resource of gut microbe-associated lncRNAs for the development of lncRNA biomarkers and the identification of functional lncRNAs in host-microbes interactions.