Diversity of the Human Intestinal Microbial Flora

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 308; no. 5728; pp. 1635 - 1638
• Main Authors: Eckburg, Paul B, Bik, Elisabeth M, Bernstein, Charles N, Purdom, Elizabeth, Dethlefsen, Les, Sargent, Michael, Gill, Steven R, Nelson, Karen E, Relman, David A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Association for the Advancement of Science 10.06.2005; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Adult; Anatomy; Bacteria; Bacteria - classification; Bacteria - genetics; Bacteria - isolation & purification; Bacteroidetes - classification; Bacteroidetes - genetics; Bacteroidetes - isolation & purification; Biodiversity; Biological and medical sciences; Biological taxonomies; Colon - microbiology; Community composition; Community Relations; community structure; Comparative Analysis; Digestive system; DNA, Ribosomal - genetics; Ecosystem; Ecosystems; feces; Feces - microbiology; Flora; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gastrointestinal system; Genes, Archaeal; Genes, Bacterial; Genes, rRNA; Genetic diversity; Genetic Variation; Genetics; Humans; innate immunity; Intestinal microbiology; intestinal microorganisms; Intestinal Mucosa - microbiology; Intestine. Mesentery; Intestines; Libraries; Methanobrevibacter - classification; Methanobrevibacter - genetics; Methanobrevibacter - isolation & purification; Microbiology; Microbiota; Microorganisms; Middle Aged; Molecular Sequence Data; mucosa; nucleotide sequences; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Ribonucleic acid; Ribosomal DNA; ribosomal RNA; RNA; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; Vertebrates: digestive system; Human; Healthy subject; Nucleotide sequence; Health; Mucosa; Variability; Gut; Microflora; Immunity; Infection; Characterization; Microbiological investigation; Ribosomal RNA; Ecosystem; Bacteriosis; Colon; Feces; Comparative study

The human endogenous intestinal microflora is an essential "organ" in providing nourishment, regulating epithelial development, and instructing innate immunity; yet, surprisingly, basic features remain poorly described. We examined 13,355 prokaryotic ribosomal RNA gene sequences from multi...