Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40180917›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Lineage-specific microbial protein prediction enables large-scale exploration of protein ecology within the human gut.

Matthias A Schmitz, Nicholas J Dimonaco, Thomas Clavel, Thomas C A Hitch

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. The Japanese gut microbiome: ecology, uniqueness, and impact on health and disease.Proceedings of the Japan Academy. Series B, Physical and biological sciences · 2026
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Matthias A SchmitzFunctional Microbiome Research Group, RWTH University Hospital, Aachen, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0008-4418-4012
Nicholas J DimonacoInstitute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3808-206X
Thomas ClavelFunctional Microbiome Research Group, RWTH University Hospital, Aachen, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7229-5595
Thomas C A HitchFunctional Microbiome Research Group, RWTH University Hospital, Aachen, Germany. thitch@ukaachen.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2244-7412

Funding

Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game (DFG) 460129525
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Microbes use a range of genetic codes and gene structures, yet these are often ignored during metagenomic analysis. This causes spurious protein predictions, preventing functional assignment which limits our understanding of ecosystems. To resolve this, we developed a lineage-specific gene prediction approach that uses the correct genetic code based on the taxonomic assignment of genetic fragments, removes incomplete protein predictions, and optimises prediction of small proteins. Applied to 9634 metagenomes and 3594 genomes from the human gut, this approach increased the landscape of captured expressed microbial proteins by 78.9%, including previously hidden functional groups. Optimised small protein prediction captured 3,772,658 small protein clusters, which form an improved microbial protein catalogue of the human gut (MiProGut). To enable the ecological study of a protein's prevalence and association with host parameters, we developed InvestiGUT, a tool which integrates both the protein sequences and sample metadata. Accurate prediction of proteins is critical to providing a functional understanding of microbiomes, enhancing our ability to study interactions between microbes and hosts.

Indexed as

BacteriaBacterial ProteinsGastrointestinal MicrobiomeMetagenomicsComputational BiologyHumansMetagenomePhylogenyBacterial Proteins

Identifiers

PMID40180917
PMCPMC11968815

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.