{
  "abstract": "The gut microbiome is increasingly recognized as an important determinant of host immune regulation, intestinal homeostasis, and recovery after colorectal cancer (CRC) surgery. Although our previous randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial demonstrated that fungal nutraceutical supplementation with Micodigest® was associated with favorable taxonomic and systemic inflammatory changes in patients undergoing CRC surgery with curative intent, the functional consequences of this intervention remain poorly understood. Here, we performed a functional metagenomic analysis of fecal samples collected from patients enrolled in the original clinical trial to investigate whether Micodigest® supplementation was associated with changes in the functional potential of the gut microbiome. A total of 37 patients were analyzed, including 24 receiving Micodigest® and 13 receiving placebo, with paired samples collected before supplementation and after 4–6 weeks of intervention. Shallow shotgun metagenomic sequencing was performed, and microbial functional potential was characterized using KEGG Orthologues (KOs). Differential abundance analysis identified 14 significantly different KOs between groups at baseline and 23 after intervention, with no overlap between the two sets of orthologues. Following supplementation, Micodigest®-treated patients exhibited increased representation of functions related to CRISPR-associated systems, bacteriophage biology, and chitin-derived carbohydrate utilization, together with reduced representation of nutrient acquisition systems, conjugative transfer, sulfur metabolism, and components of the Wood–Ljungdahl pathway. These functional signatures suggest coordinated changes in microbial ecological adaptation, nutrient utilization, genetic exchange, and metabolic activity following fungal nutraceutical supplementation. Integration with previously reported taxonomic and inflammatory findings supports the hypothesis that Micodigest® may promote coordinated remodeling of the gut microbiome and host–microbiota interactions during the perioperative period. Although the present study cannot establish causality or directly infer microbial activity from metagenomic potential, these findings provide novel functional insights into the microbiome response to fungal nutraceutical supplementation in patients with CRC and highlight functional metagenomics as a valuable complement to taxonomic profiling.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Microbiology and Infectology Research Group, Galicia Sur Health Research Institute (IIS Galicia Sur), 36312 Vigo, Spain",
    "Functional Biology and Health Sciences Department, Universidade de Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain",
    "Hifas da Terra S.L., 36154 Pontevedra, Spain",
    "Research Group in Gastrointestinal Oncology Disease in Ourense, 32005 Ourense, Spain",
    "Department of Gastroenterology, Hospital Universitario de Ourense, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBEREHD), 32005 Ourense, Spain",
    "Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería (ETSE), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain",
    "Microbiology Department, Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Vigo (CHUVI), 36312 Vigo, Spain",
    "Department of Gastroenterology, Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Vigo, 36312 Vigo, Spain"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 18,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Nahir Rodríguez-Costas",
      "orcid": "0009-0005-5670-1898"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Arturo Rodríguez-Blanco",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3103-2710"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Cristina Regueiro Expósito",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8567-6784"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Joaquín Cubiella",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9994-4831"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Esteban Sinde Stompel"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Catalina Fernández-de-Ana Portela",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0411-4382"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Astrid Irene Diez Martín",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8822-2991"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Pablo Taboada-Rodríguez",
      "orcid": "0009-0005-0139-9951"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Belén Fontán Silva"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "María Dolores Rodríguez Fernández"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Sara Zarraquiños"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "David Remedios",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2682-0317"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Cristina Alejandra Sánchez Gómez",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0924-2295"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Sara Alonso Lorenzo"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Romina Fernández Poceiro"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        7
      ],
      "name": "María Luisa de Castro Parga",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7848-7910"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Vicent Hernández Ramírez",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1607-0831"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        6
      ],
      "name": "Sonia Pérez-Castro",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1734-1904"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5vzwed2mrnmkm.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/ijms27198936",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13665136",
  "id": "5vzwed2mrnmkm",
  "issns": [
    "1422-0067"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/19/8936",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1312|Gut microbiota and health"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221106190",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13665136?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13665136",
  "pmid": "42884177",
  "published": "2026-10-08",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5vzwed2mrnmkm.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:55Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/ijms27198936",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/19/8936"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:00Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42884177",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42884177"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biochemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:1312|Gut microbiota and health",
      "subfield": "molecular-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Beyond Taxonomy: Fungal Nutraceutical Supplementation Modifies the Functional Potential of the Gut Microbiome in Colorectal Cancer",
  "title_text": "Beyond Taxonomy: Fungal Nutraceutical Supplementation Modifies the Functional Potential of the Gut Microbiome in Colorectal Cancer",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:19:00Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/5vzwed2mrnmkm",
  "venue": "International Journal of Molecular Sciences",
  "versions": []
}