The Human Microbiome: From Symbiosis to Pathogenesis

The human microbiota is a complex assemblage of the microbes inhabiting many sites in the human body. Recent advances in technology have enabled deep sequencing and analysis of the members and structures of these communities. Two sites, the vagina and gastrointestinal tract, are highlighted to exemp...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of medicine 2013-01, Vol.64 (1), p.145-163
Main Authors: Eloe-Fadrosh, Emiley A, Rasko, David A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
bacterial community structure
Clinical medicine
Correlation analysis
Disease
Environment
gastrointestinal tract
Gastrointestinal Tract - microbiology
host-pathogen interaction
Humans
Metagenome - physiology
Microbiology
microbiota
Pathogenesis
Symbiosis
Symbiosis - physiology
vagina
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The human microbiota is a complex assemblage of the microbes inhabiting many sites in the human body. Recent advances in technology have enabled deep sequencing and analysis of the members and structures of these communities. Two sites, the vagina and gastrointestinal tract, are highlighted to exemplify how technological advances have enhanced our knowledge of the host-microbiota system. These examples represent low- and high-complexity communities, respectively. In each example, certain community structures are identified that can be extrapolated to larger collections representing multiple individuals and potential disease or health states. One common feature is the unexpected diversity of the microbiota at any of these locations, which poses a challenge for relating the microbiota to health and disease. However, we anticipate microbiota compositional measurements could become standard clinical practice in the future and may become diagnostic for certain diseases or increased susceptibility to certain disorders. The microbiota of a number of disease states are currently being examined to identify potential correlations. In line with these predictions, it is possible that existing conditions may be resolved by altering the microbiota in a positive way.
ISSN:0066-4219
1545-326X
DOI:10.1146/annurev-med-010312-133513