Objective: To assess for differences in the composition of the gut microbiota in pregnant women with and without ketonuria at 16 weeks gestation.
Design: Cross-sectional observational study of eleven overweight or obese women with ketonuria at 16 weeks gestation and 11 matched controls.
Methods: Faecal samples were obtained from women with fasting ketonuria at 16 weeks gestation and matched controls. The samples were analysed to assess for differences in gut microbiota composition by 16S rRNA sequencing.
Results: Supervised hierarchical clustering analysis showed significantly different beta-diversity between women with and without ketonuria but no difference in the alpha-diversity. Group comparisons and network analysis showed that ketonuria was associated with an increased abundance of the butyrate-producing genus Roseburia. The bacteria that contribute the most to the differences in the composition of the gut microbiota include Roseburia, Methanobrevibacter, Uncl. RF39 and Dialisterin the women with ketonuria and Eggerthella, Phascolarctobacterium, Butyricimonas and Uncl. Coriobacteriaceaein the women without ketonuria.
Conclusion: The genus Roseburia is more abundant in the gut microbiota of pregnant women with ketonuria. Roseburia is a butyrate producing bacterium and may increase serum ketone levels.