The microbiota in health and disease

Question 1

How many unique genes do the microbiota add?

Answer 1

Collectively it adds 2-20 million unique

genes

Question 2

How many species of microbes are there in the microbiota?

Answer 2

There are 10,000 species of microbes (1-3kg)

Question 3

Why do we need microbiota?

Answer 3

• Breakdown of complex polysaccharides
• Synthesis of vitamins
• Colonization resistance
• Maturation of our immune system
• Beneficial Metabolites

Question 4

How does microbiota change depending on the birth route?

Answer 4

Babies born with caesarean have less microbiota diversity, but catches during infancy

Question 5

Can microbiota be inherited?

Answer 5

Yes, a healthy mother gives healthy microbiota to offsprings, an unhealthy mother (fat) gives an unhealthy microbiota (adverse metabolic outcomes) to offsprings

Question 6

What can affect the microbiota in a positive, neutral and bad way?

Answer 6

Positive: probiotics (uncertain efficiency) and prebiotic fiber
Neutral (depends): genetics, birth route and diet
Bad: sanitation, disease and drugs (antibiotics)

Question 7

How can microbiota affect us?

Answer 7

Motoneurones capability in Parkinson’s disease, treatment success on checkpoint inhibitors, psychology/behavior, etc.
But need more evidence of direct causality and not just association studies!

Question 8

What are diseases linked to unhealthy microbiota?

Answer 8

Inflammatory bowel dieses, diabetes (type 1), dermatitis, etc.