Nine weeks of high-intensity indoor cycling training induced changes in the microbiota composition in non-athlete healthy male college students

BACKGROUND: The gut microbiota constitutes a dynamic microbial system constantly challenged by environmental conditions, including physical exercise. Limited human studies suggest that exercise could play a beneficial role for gut health, increasing microbial diversity, even if the effects of exercise on gut microbial microorganisms depends on its intensity and duration. This study aimed to investigate the effects of nine weeks of high-intensity interval exercise on gut microbiota composition in healthy young adults. METHODS: The gut microbiota composition of seventeen healthy male college students was analysed before and after nine weeks of high-intensity interval cycling training by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. PERMANOVA for repeated measures was used to test pre-post differences in the relative abundance of all taxonomic levels, and correlations between variations in microbial composition and physical and dietary features were also assessed. RESULTS: Physical exercise induced changes in microbiota composition, at all taxonomic levels analysed (phyla: F ([1, 32)(])=3.97, p=0.029; classes: F ([)(1, 32)(])=3.39, p=0.033, orders: F ([)(1, 32)(])=3.17, p=0.044, families: F ([)(1, 32)(])=1.54, p=0.037, genera: F ([)(1, 32)(])=1.46, p=0.015, species: F ([)(1, 32)(])=1.38, p=0.007). Conversely, no differences were found between pre and post-training conditions for microbial community richness (Chao1: V=105, p=0.06) or diversity (Shannon index: V=62, p=0.52; Simpson index: V=59, p=0.43). Changes in the relative abundance of eighteen genera were correlated to changes of twenty environmental factors grouped in physical features, sport-related features, and dietary features. CONCLUSIONS: Nine weeks of high-intensity exercise induced modifications in gut microbiota composition in healthy male college students, shifting the gut microbial population towards a healthier microbiome with benefit to human health in general. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12970-021-00471-z.