Structure, function and diversity of the healthy human microbiome
Структура, функции и разнообразие микробиома здорового человека
2012-06-01
SCID: 54.1/xvv72aq4
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Body habitat niche specializationHuman Microbiome ProjectHuman microbiomeMetagenomic metabolic pathwaysMicrobial community structure
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Abstract (AI)
Studies of the human microbiome have revealed that even healthy individuals differ remarkably in the microbes that occupy habitats such as the gut, skin and vagina. Much of this diversity remains unexplained, although diet, environment, host genetics and early microbial exposure have all been implicated. Accordingly, to characterize the ecology of human-associated microbial communities, the Human Microbiome Project has analysed the largest cohort and set of distinct, clinically relevant body habitats so far. We found the diversity and abundance of each habitat’s signature microbes to vary widely even among healthy subjects, with strong niche specialization both within and among individuals. The project encountered an estimated 81–99% of the genera, enzyme families and community configurations occupied by the healthy Western microbiome. Metagenomic carriage of metabolic pathways was stable among individuals despite variation in community structure, and ethnic/racial background proved to be one of the strongest associations of both pathways and microbes with clinical metadata. These results thus delineate the range of structural and functional configurations normal in the microbial communities of a healthy population, enabling future characterization of the epidemiology, ecology and translational applications of the human microbiome. The Human Microbiome Project Consortium reports the first results of their analysis of microbial communities from distinct, clinically relevant body habitats in a human cohort; the insights into the microbial communities of a healthy population lay foundations for future exploration of the epidemiology, ecology and translational applications of the human microbiome. The Human Microbiome Project (HMP), supported by the National Institutes of Health Common Fund, has the goal of characterizing the microbial communities that inhabit and interact with the human body in sickness and in health. In two Articles in this issue of Nature, the HMP Consortium presents the first population-scale details of the organismal and functional composition of the microbiota across five areas of the body. An associated News & Views discusses the initial results — which, along with those of a series of co-publications, already constitute the most extensive catalogue of organisms and genes related to the human microbiome yet published — and highlights some of the major questions that the project will tackle in the next few years.
Key Findings
1
Ethnic or racial background was among the strongest associations linking microbial pathways and taxa to clinical metadata.
2
Healthy individuals showed wide variation in the diversity and abundance of signature microbes across gut, skin, vaginal, and other body habitats.
3
Metagenomic metabolic pathway carriage remained relatively stable across individuals despite substantial differences in community structure.
4
Microbial communities exhibited strong niche specialization both within individuals and between different people.
5
The Human Microbiome Project sampled an estimated 81–99% of genera, enzyme families, and community configurations found in the healthy Western microbiome.
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The study establishes reference ranges of structural and functional configurations for healthy human microbial communities.
Research Object
Healthy human microbiome (microbial communities occupying body habitats such as gut, skin, and vagina)
Research Subject
The structural and functional diversity, community configurations, niche specialization, and metabolic-pathway stability of the healthy human microbiome
Publication Details
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2012-06-01
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References available in scid.ai4
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