11) Human Microbiome

Question 1

Define microbiome

Answer 1

the ecological community of commensal, symbiotic and pathogenic microorganisms that share the body space of higher organisms

Question 2

what is the ratio of microbes to human cells?

Answer 2

10:1

Question 3

what kind of cells does the microbiome include?

Answer 3

eukaryotes
archae
bacteria
viruses

Question 4

describe the human microbiome project

Answer 4

• to improve understanding of the microbiota involved in human health and disease
• phase 1 in 2007 included identifying the normal human microbial flora found on nasal passages, oral cavity, skin, GIT and urogenital tract

Question 5

what are molecular techniques used in the microbiome project?

Answer 5

• culture-independent and multi-omics approach
• 16S rRNA sequencing: to characterize the microbial communities at each body site
• metagenomics whole genome shotgun sequencing

Question 6

what are milestones in the human microbiome project?

Answer 6

created reference database of “normal” microbial variation in humans

10,000 microbial species occupy the human ecosystem

81-99% of the genera have been identified

Question 7

who is the “microbiome” dude?

what did he do?

Answer 7

Rob Knight

• aims to sequence microbes on anything and everything to count and compare species
• important in human microbiome project and american gut project

Question 8

compare C-section babies to babies born vaginally

Answer 8

C- section babies have:

• slightly higher risk of obesity, asthma, allergies and other ailments
• differences in microbial communities

Question 9

what is done to C-section babies to restore missed microbiomes?

Answer 9

swab babies with mother’s vaginal microbes

Question 10

describe what the “dog study” showed

Answer 10

• that lifestyle factors can influence your microbiome

- people and dogs living in same household were shown to share common microbial populations