The interpersonal and intrapersonal diversity of human-associated microbiota in key body sites

• Published in: Journal of allergy and clinical immunology Vol. 129; no. 5; pp. 1204 - 1208
• Main Authors: Ursell, Luke K., Clemente, Jose C., Rideout, Jai Ram, Gevers, Dirk, Caporaso, J. Gregory, Knight, Rob
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Mosby, Inc 01.05.2012; Elsevier; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: 16S rRNA sequencing; Allergy and Immunology; bacteria; Bioinformatics; Biological and medical sciences; Cell culture; Diet; digestive system; Digestive tract; Disease; Ethnic groups; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fundamental immunology; Homeostasis; Host-Pathogen Interactions; human diseases; Human microbiome; Human subjects; Humans; Hypersensitivity; Hypersensitivity - immunology; Hypersensitivity - microbiology; Immunity, Mucosal; Immunopathology; inflammatory bowel disease; Inflammatory bowel diseases; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases - immunology; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases - microbiology; Intestines - microbiology; Life span; Medical sciences; Metagenome; microbial diversity; Microbial Interactions; microbiome; Nutrition research; Obesity; Organ Specificity; patients; Phylogenetics; Respiratory System - microbiology; Respiratory tract; Reviews; Sarcoidosis. Granulomatous diseases of unproved etiology. Connective tissue diseases. Elastic tissue diseases. Vasculitis; Skin; Skin - microbiology; Studies; temporal variation; Temporal variations; Vagina; Vagina - microbiology; United States > US; Human microbiome; OTU; CF; GIT; BV; temporal variation; 16S rRNA sequencing; microbial diversity; QIIME; Quantitative Insights Into Microbial Ecology; Cystic fibrosis; Gastrointestinal tract; Bacterial vaginosis; Operational taxonomic unit; Human; Immunopathology; Immunology; Nucleotide sequence; Ribosomal RNA; Sequencing; Time variation
• ISSN: 0091-6749; 1097-6825; 1097-6825
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2012.03.010

The human body harbors 10 to 100 trillion microbes, mainly bacteria in our gut, which greatly outnumber our own human cells. This bacterial assemblage, referred to as the human microbiota, plays a fundamental role in our well-being. Deviations from healthy microbial compositions (dysbiosis) have been linked with important human diseases, including inflammation-linked disorders, such as allergies, obesity, and inflammatory bowel disease. Characterizing the temporal variations and community membership of the healthy human microbiome is critical to accurately identify the significant deviations from normality that could be associated with disease states. However, the diversity of the human microbiome varies between body sites, between patients, and over time. Environmental differences have also been shown to play a role in shaping the human microbiome in different cultures, requiring that the healthy human microbiome be characterized across life spans, ethnicities, nationalities, cultures, and geographic locales. In this article we summarize our knowledge on the microbial composition of the 5 best-characterized body sites (gut, skin, oral, airways, and vagina), focusing on interpersonal and intrapersonal variations and our current understanding of the sources of this variation.