Molecular Horizons - Ojas Dixit, PhD Exit Seminar

The symbiotic relationship between a host and their gut microbiome may be disrupted by a variety of factors. Each of these factors undoubtedly affects the diversity and richness of the gut microbiome, but it is unclear how much of an effect they have on the onset of human diseases. This thesis assesses the ability of the gut microbiome to improve health outcomes or exacerbate disease, in particular, this thesis: provides evidence for different responses in microbiome composition with different dietary fibre types in overweight/obese adults, highlighting the individual’s response to diet over the course of multiple interventions; characterisation of the microbiome of effluent peritoneal dialysate and a comparison of this microbiome with the stool microbiome in end-stage kidney disease patients, to determine if translocation may be playing a role; discover about the relationship between Crohn's disease and blood monocyte-microbial response genes. In addition, a large study was conducted to determine the diversity of antimicrobial resistance in retail chicken and pork meat sold in ACT and NSW, Australia, with the results suggesting that more frequent monitoring of a broader group of species be conducted in Australia moving forward.