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Microbiome genetics links short-chain fatty acids to metabolic diseases

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A recent large genetic study by Sanna et al., published in Nature Genetics, has shown that short-chain fatty acids, which are produced by gut microbes, have a significant causal effect on insulin secretion, postprandial glycaemic responses and risk of type 2 diabetes.

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Fig. 1: Causal links between microbiome features and metabolic traits.

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Acknowledgements

C.M. is funded by the MRC AimHy (MR/M016560/1) project grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King’s College London, London, UK

    Cristina Menni

  2. School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK

    Ana M. Valdes

  3. NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, Nottingham, UK

    Ana M. Valdes

Authors
  1. Cristina Menni
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  2. Ana M. Valdes
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cristina Menni.

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Competing interests

A.M.V. is a consultant for Zoe Global Ltd.

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Menni, C., Valdes, A.M. Microbiome genetics links short-chain fatty acids to metabolic diseases. Nat Metab 1, 420–421 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-019-0056-5

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