Computational methods allow us to get an idea of the many bacterial species that live in the human gut, how they evolved and what kind of roles they may play within their microbial community.
Gut Microbes Reduce Irinotecan Toxicity in Colorectal Cancer
The composition of a person's microbiome influence the reactivation of Irinotecan given for colorectal cancer treatment.
The composition of a person's microbiome influence the reactivation of Irinotecan given for colorectal cancer treatment.
‘The researchers are possibly getting closer to creating a comprehensive list of the commonly found microbes in the North American and European gut, there is a significant lack of data from other regions of the world.’
The human gut is home to many species of microbes, collectively referred to as the gut microbiota. Despite extensive studies in the field, researchers are still working on identifying the individual microbial species that live in our guts and understanding what roles they play in human health. 'Reconstructing' bacteria
There are many reasons why some microbial species that are part of the gut microbiota have remained unknown for so long, such as a low abundance in the gut or an inability to survive outside it. By using computational methods, researchers were able to reconstruct the genomes of these bacteria.
Gut Microbes may Influence Multiple Sclerosis Progression
Gut microbes may play a role in the neurodegeneration that characterizes multiple sclerosis (MS). MS associated bacteria produce molecules that mimic proteins found in myelin.
Gut microbes may play a role in the neurodegeneration that characterizes multiple sclerosis (MS). MS associated bacteria produce molecules that mimic proteins found in myelin.
Geographical diversity
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Gut Microbes in a Baby�s Digestive Tract can Prevent Asthma
Babies born to mothers with asthma are at an increased risk of developing asthma, especially baby boys are more at risk than girls.
Babies born to mothers with asthma are at an increased risk of developing asthma, especially baby boys are more at risk than girls.
"We are seeing a lot of the same bacterial species crop up in the data from European and North American populations," continues Finn. "However, the few South American and African datasets we had access to for this study revealed significant diversity not present in the former populations. This suggests that collecting data from underrepresented populations is essential if we want to achieve a truly comprehensive picture of the composition of the human gut."
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Gut Microbes and Flavonoids Can Help Fight Influenza
Gut microbes prevent severe flu infections by breaking down naturally occurring compounds like flavonoids found in foods such as black tea, red wine and blueberries.
Gut microbes prevent severe flu infections by breaking down naturally occurring compounds like flavonoids found in foods such as black tea, red wine and blueberries.
"Computational methods allow us to get an idea of the many bacterial species that live in the human gut, how they evolved and what kind of roles they may play within their microbial community," says Alexandre Almeida, Postdoctoral Fellow at EMBL-EBI and the Wellcome Sanger Institute. "In this study, we leveraged the most comprehensive public databases of gastrointestinal bacteria to identify bacterial species that have not been seen before. The analysis methods we used are highly reproducible and can be applied to larger, more diverse datasets in the future, enabling further discovery."
"Research such as this is helping us create a so-called blueprint of the human gut, which in the future could help us understand human health and disease better and could even guide diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases," concludes Trevor Lawley, Group Leader at the Wellcome Sanger Institute.
Source-Eurekalert
