Gut microbiota and its association with gastrointestinal symptoms and pharmacological treatments in a sibling-matched cohort with autism spectrum disorder.

Overview

Authors: Florencia Peñalba¹, Andreina Guisande², Lucía Lamberti³, Camila Rusiñol³, Maite Irastorza¹, Florencia Konik⁴, Claudio Iglesias², Paula Mendive⁴, Gabriela Garrido³, Andrés Parada¹, Nadia Riera^1,5

ORCID iDs: Nadia Riera

Microbial Genomics Laboratory, Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Pereira Rossell Hospital Center, Montevideo, Uruguay
Academic Unit of Pediatric Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of the Republic, Montevideo, Uruguay
Unidad Académica (U.A.) Área de Investigación, Escuela de Nutrición, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay
Center for Innovation in Epidemiological Surveillance, Institut Pasteur Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay

Institutions: Institut Pasteur de Montevideo (Uruguay); Centro Hospitalario Pereira Rossell (Uruguay); Universidad de la República de Uruguay (Uruguay); Institut Pasteur (France)

Journal: Frontiers in microbiomes, volume 5, article 1777385

Dates: received 29 December 2025; accepted 2 March 2026; published online 24 March 2026

Type: Research article · Language: English

License: CC BY

Identifiers: DOI 10.3389/frmbi.2026.1777385 · PMID 41952964 · PMCID PMC13055624 · OpenAlex W7140159278

Open access: gold, a free copy (OpenAlex)

Status: code verified (how the code is found and verified)

Categories: genetics / omics (modality), human (organism), autism (population), clinical / translational (subfield)

Methods: Statistics, Machine learning, Connectivity

Keywords: 16S rRNA, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), gastrointestinal symptoms (GI), microbiome, oxford nanopore amplicon sequencing

Topic: Gut microbiota and health (Molecular Biology, Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology), according to OpenAlex

Funding: ANII (National Agency for Research and Innovation)

Citations: cited by 1 paper (Europe PMC); 61 references in the paper

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder marked by difficulties in communication, social interaction, and restricted, repetitive behaviors. The gut microbiota has emerged as a key factor in the gut-brain axis relevant to ASD. We conducted a cross-sectional study comparing the gut bacterial composition of children with ASD (n=29) and their neurotypical siblings (NT, n=29). To minimize environmental and lifestyle confounders, all pairs were 4 to 10 years old and cohabiting in the same household in Uruguay. We used full-length 16S rRNA gene (V1–V9) sequencing with the latest R10.4.1 Oxford Nanopore Technologies chemistry, enabling high-resolution microbial characterization. While overall β-diversity did not differ significantly between the ASD and NT groups, we identified specific taxonomic shifts. The ASD group was enriched in taxa like Sellimonas, while the NT group showed enrichment of genera like Faecalibacterium and Coprococcus. Furthermore, we found GI symptoms to be significantly more prevalent in the ASD group and some bacterial genera associated with GI symptomatology. In addition, we explored the association of pharmacological treatments. Antipsychotic use was associated with reduced Akkermansia abundance, whereas melatonin and methylphenidate use were associated with the enrichment of Negativibacillus. This study provides novel insights into the gut microbiome of Uruguayan children with ASD, delineating the influence of GI symptoms and pharmacological load on microbial diversity and composition.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Code

No file of the authors' code could be read here: it is described below, and read at its source.

fpenalba09

License: none: the authors keep all their rights

State: the link answers, verified on 30 September 2026

Evidence: the link answers

Software Heritage: not checked

Found in: the text, “Bioinformatic analysis”

Not found: README, license file, CITATION.cff, environment file, tests, continuous integration, documentation

Availability: 1 check, the latest on 30 September 2026: the link answers (HTTP 200)

30 September 2026: the link answers (HTTP 200)

At the source: github.com/fpenalba09

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Data availability statement

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Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

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Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, pages, dates, 11 authors, 5 keywords, 1 funder, 55 references.

Cite

This paper

Peñalba, F., Guisande, A., Lamberti, L., Rusiñol, C., Irastorza, M., Konik, F., Iglesias, C., Mendive, P., Garrido, G., Parada, A., & Riera, N. (2026). Gut microbiota and its association with gastrointestinal symptoms and pharmacological treatments in a sibling-matched cohort with autism spectrum disorder. Frontiers in microbiomes, 5, 1777385. https://doi.org/10.3389/frmbi.2026.1777385

BibTeX

@article{penalba2026gut, author = {Peñalba, Florencia and Guisande, Andreina and Lamberti, Lucía and Rusiñol, Camila and Irastorza, Maite and Konik, Florencia and Iglesias, Claudio and Mendive, Paula and Garrido, Gabriela and Parada, Andrés and Riera, Nadia}, title = {{Gut microbiota and its association with gastrointestinal symptoms and pharmacological treatments in a sibling-matched cohort with autism spectrum disorder}}, journal = {Frontiers in microbiomes}, year = {2026}, month = mar, volume = {5}, pages = {1777385}, publisher = {Frontiers Media SA}, issn = {2813-4338}, doi = {10.3389/frmbi.2026.1777385}, url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/frmbi.2026.1777385}, pmid = {41952964}, pmcid = {PMC13055624} }

RIS

TY - JOUR AU - Peñalba, Florencia AU - Guisande, Andreina AU - Lamberti, Lucía AU - Rusiñol, Camila AU - Irastorza, Maite AU - Konik, Florencia AU - Iglesias, Claudio AU - Mendive, Paula AU - Garrido, Gabriela AU - Parada, Andrés AU - Riera, Nadia TI - Gut microbiota and its association with gastrointestinal symptoms and pharmacological treatments in a sibling-matched cohort with autism spectrum disorder T2 - Frontiers in microbiomes J2 - Front Microbiomes PY - 2026 DA - 2026/03/24 VL - 5 SP - 1777385 SN - 2813-4338 PB - Frontiers Media SA DO - 10.3389/frmbi.2026.1777385 UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/frmbi.2026.1777385 LA - en ER -

CSL-JSON

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