For more than a year, the world has been engulfed in the COVID-19 pandemic, which, as of the end of October 2021, has infected at least 237 million people and killed 4.84 million. In response to this disaster, numerous international institutions have conducted research and discovered a bidirectional interaction between the respiratory mucosa and gut microbiota, which can influence the effectiveness of immunity and lead to differences in the probability of infection among different individuals.
With this in mind, the Food Industry Research and Development Institute (hereinafter referred to as "the Institute") has leveraged its long-standing accumulated microbial database, microbial gene research, and microbial fermentation processes to participate in the "Technology Against the Pandemic 2.0" project launched this year by the National Center for Information Technology and the National Applied Research Laboratories (NARL) in collaboration with TWS (Taiwanese Wisdom Cloud). The project integrates and utilizes the cloud-based high-speed computing resources of the TWCC platform and incorporates AI models to fully support food safety and pandemic prevention efforts. The aim is to precisely strengthen individual immunity and help the public respond to emerging viral infections at any time.
Leveraging high-speed computing services to explore key molecules that enhance immunity.
Chen Chien-Chi, a senior researcher at the Food Research Institute’s Center for Biological Resource Conservation and Research, pointed out that in the past few years, global research on gut microbiota has been actively carried out because many diseases are related to the imbalance of gut microbiota. For example, the gut microbiota of the elderly, obese people, patients with metabolic syndrome, patients with cardiovascular disease, and even people with neurological diseases have been shown to be in an unbalanced state, causing immune system disorders and thus greatly increasing the chance of contracting diseases. This shows that gut microbiota is highly related to diseases.
The Institute of Food Science's Center for Biological Resource Conservation and Research has long been dedicated to the development of probiotics, with a particular focus on lactic acid bacteria. Lactic acid bacteria, due to their long history of consumption and widespread use, are expected to offer health benefits to humans. To date, in addition to publicly available research strains, the center has screened and collected over a thousand probiotic strains suitable for industrial use from various sources, including humans, animals, plants, and fermented foods, making it an excellent source for developing preventative food products.
"Besides microorganisms, international research has found that diet is a crucial factor affecting gut health. For example, fibrous plants help increase good bacteria and reduce bad bacteria in the gut," said Chen Qianqi. She added that many fermented foods can also promote the healthy development and balance of gut microbiota, leading to better immune regulation. For instance, popular kombucha not only contains probiotics such as yeast and lactic acid bacteria, but also, through the interaction of tea, sugar, and microorganisms, produces uronic acid compounds through metabolism, further promoting human health.
Therefore, the Food Research Institute is eager to leverage big data analytics and AI model analysis to gain a deeper understanding of the microbial composition of various fermented foods and detect whether these microorganisms are beneficial or harmful to the human body. Under this premise, the Food Research Institute utilizes the TWCC cloud-based high-speed computing resources of the National Center for Science and Technology for Epidemic Prevention 2.0, combined with its own genomics technology, to analyze the genomic sequences of various fermentation strains and explore metabolic pathways, hoping to find key molecules that can enhance the immune system.
The time required to complete microbial genome computation was drastically reduced from one week to...2~3sky
Chen Chien-chi stated that, based on previous research by the Food Research Institute, it was found that Taiwanese people have two types of gut microbiota, Type A and Type B, with varying immune responses. For example, Type A gut microbiota has relatively low immune indicators. Following this line of thought, the Food Research Institute will analyze different gut microbiota and combine the interactions between fermentation bacteria to find probiotics that can promote healthy gut and accurately strengthen personalized immunity to combat potentially common future infections.
Therefore, the TWCC supercomputing power, combined with the professional service capabilities of the National Center for Computing Technology and Taiwan Wisdom Cloud (TWS), is an indispensable support for the Food Research Institute. It is expected to help the institute accelerate its exploration of microorganisms from various sources, thereby enhancing the immune value of fermented foods. Chen Qianqi revealed that previously, the Food Research Institute used its own servers to perform calculations on the genomes of small microorganisms, which took at least a week to complete. In the same scenario, once the calculations were performed in the TWCC environment, the task was completed in just 2-3 days.
Thanks to the advancements in computing speed, the Food Research Institute can significantly enhance its research capabilities. Whether facing current challenges in developing epidemic prevention foods or future research needs in areas such as disease treatment and health promotion, the institute can accelerate its progress, unleash greater value creation potential, and contribute to the well-being of the nation, industry, society, and individuals.
Source: This article is excerpted from DIGITIMES.