# Characterizing the Metabolome and Volatilome of Gut Microbiome

> **NIH NIH R35** · OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $357,567

## Abstract

Project Summary:
Previous studies have shown that microbial metabolites are often the compounds most markedly altered in the
disease state when comparing diseased versus healthy individuals. Recent studies also suggest that
metabolites deriving from microbial transformation of dietary components have significant effects on host
physiological processes such as energy metabolism, gut and immune homeostasis, neurological behavior, and
vascular function. Additionally, it has been proposed that metabolomics-directed functional interventions using
exogenous metabolites may play critical biological roles in cellular activities. However, there are no existing,
detailed, and quantitative techniques for the measurement of a broad range of endogenous microbial
metabolites, nor has there been a systematic investigation of microbial communities for their metabolic
functions. To fill the existing gap of knowledge, the research program outlined in this proposal focuses on three
core areas: 1) Develop advanced mass spectrometry-based metabolomics technique for sensitive, quantitative
detection and broad coverage of gut microbial metabolites; 2) Develop Secondary Electrospray Ionization –
Field Asymmetric Waveform Ion Mobility Spectrometry – High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (SESI-FAIMS-
HRMS) for the rapid detection of gut microbial volatile organic compound detection; 3) Utilizing existing
samples from our collaborator's lab to validate our metabolomics methods and elucidate the functionality of
catechins microbial metabolites in obese host. These three coherent areas center on the development and
application of mass spectrometry-based metabolomics, volatilomics and related microbial biotechnology tools
to enable functional studies of microbial metabolism and nutrition-gut microbiome-host interactions. We believe
this research program has great potential to elucidate the impact of microbial metabolites on host health and
diseases, and to provide guidelines for modulating these metabolites to realize the full therapeutic potential,
and for targeting microbial metabolism to promote human health.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10000182
- **Project number:** 5R35GM133510-02
- **Recipient organization:** OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Jiangjiang Zhu
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $357,567
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-01 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10000182

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10000182, Characterizing the Metabolome and Volatilome of Gut Microbiome (5R35GM133510-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10000182. Licensed CC0.

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