Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) based method to predict how bacteria in the gut break down different types of food and medication. This online tool, named “GutBug,” provides information on specific bacterial enzymes, reactions, and bacteria involved in the digestion and absorption of nutrients in the human gut. The AI tool can potentially predict all bacterial enzymes that act on bioactive dietary molecules and oral drugs. The research, co-authored by Dr. Vineet Sharma, was published in the Journal of Molecular Biology. GutBug is accessible at https://metabiosys.iiserb.ac.in/gutbug.
The gut microbiome, which consists of the collection of beneficial bacteria in the gut, plays a crucial role in the processing of orally consumed substances in the body. The number of microbes in the gastrointestinal tract exceeds the number of human cells in the body. With over a thousand different species of bacteria, the human gut microbiome has more than 3.3 million unique genes. These bacteria secrete enzymes that process food, providing the body with essential metabolites for health and bodily functions. However, studying the complex relationship between the host (humans) and the microbiome is challenging due to the vastness of the microbiome and its variation among individuals.
Dr. Vineet K. Sharma explained the research methodology, stating that GutBug employs a combination of machine learning, neural networks, and chemoinformatic methods. The AI model was trained using a curated database of 363,872 enzymes from around 700 human gut bacterial strains and a substrate database containing 3,457 enzymes.
Dr. Sharma emphasized that GutBug can enhance our understanding of how the food we consume and the medicines we take orally are processed by our gut bacteria, and the impact this has on our health. This knowledge can be valuable for designing diets, developing new prebiotics, creating nutritional products, and improving drug design tailored to the specific nature of an individual’s gut bacteria, leading to personalized medicine.