"Human microbiome": first results
Biologists summed up the results of the census of the microbial population of the human body
From the point of view of a microbiologist, a person is a walking ecosystem – many different microorganisms live in the human body. The first data about our internal "neighbors" were published 300 years ago, shortly after the invention of the microscope. However, now, with the advent of methods for studying the genome, the idea of intrahuman ecosystems can radically change.
The results of the Human Microbiome project, launched in 2007 in the USA, show that our biological features depend on the microbial population much more than previously thought.
Primary samples for further research in the framework of the project were obtained from 242 adult men and women living in the USA. Scientists took samples from the skin, nose, pharynx, and gastrointestinal tract. Such samples were taken from each participant of the study three times within 22 months, which gave a total of more than 11 thousand samples.
Scientists analyzed the structure of RNA molecules taken from 5,000 samples, which was supposed to show the genetic relationship between organisms. In addition, they decoded the genomes of microbes found in 681 samples and compared the resulting genetic sequences with the genomes of known microorganisms.
As a result, according to the project participants, they have received the most complete data on all types of microorganisms living in humans to date.
The figure from the article in Nature (David A. Relman, Microbiology: Learning about who we are) shows the number of species of microorganisms (in red) and analyzed genes (in blue) in different parts of the human body – VM.
The results obtained by scientists have shown that the microbial "population" of human teeth and feces is the most diverse. A few fewer types of microorganisms live on the skin and on the inner surface of the cheeks, and even less in the vagina.
In addition, scientists have found that people living in the same area may have a similar set of microbes in saliva samples, but the "population" of the skin may be very different. It turned out that different communities of microbes can jointly perform similar tasks in metabolism.
Experts note that the current stage of the project is only the first step, and scientists have yet to understand how the microbiome of residents of developing countries, or people suffering from certain diseases, differs.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru14.06.2012