Deletion of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 changes the composition of the microbiome in the gut

Poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase (PARP)-1 is the prototypical PARP enzyme well known for its role in DNA repair and as a pro-inflammatory protein. Since PARP1 is an important co-factor of several other pro-inflammatory proteins, in the present study the possible changes in microbial flora of PARP1 knockout mice were investigated. Samples from the duodenum, cecum and feces from wild type and PARP1 knockout C57BL/6J male mice were collected and 16S ribosomal RNA genes were sequenced. Based on the sequencing results, the microbiome and compared samples throughout the lower part of the gastrointestinal system were reconstructed. The present results demonstrated that the lack of PARP1 enzyme only disturbed the microbial flora of the duodenum, where the biodiversity increased in the knockout animals on the species level but decreased on the order level. The most prominent change was the overwhelming abundance of the family Porphyromonadaceae in the duodenum of PARP1(−/−) animals, which disappeared in the cecum and feces where families were spread out more evenly than in the wild type animals. The findings of the present study may improve current understanding of the role of PARP1 in chronic inflammatory diseases.