The Human Microbiome Project is gaining momentum, with a slew of biotech companies investing heavily in research and development

 

The human microbiome is comprised of archaea, eukaryotes, bacteria, and viruses that reside within anatomical sites of the human body including skin, placenta, uterus, mammary glands, lung, saliva, oral mucus, etc. There have been various attempts at understanding the mechanism of this microbiome. The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched ‘The Human Microbiome Project’ to enhance the understanding of microbial flora that is involved in human health and disease. The goals of the project were to reveal the diversity of the microbial community in healthy people, to assess the impact of the environment on the microbiomes of individuals, and to identify new applications for these microbes.

The microorganisms in human bodies are an important part of a balanced natural system. This project is a collection of over 100 human microbiomes that was obtained from healthy individuals of the U.S. This reference panel was then compared with the microbiomes from the same individuals' stool samples. These comparisons confirmed the results of previous studies which indicated that the human microbiomes were highly diverse. One of the most promising applications of the microbiota of humans is in the area of drug discovery and development. Since the human microbiota has been isolated and studied, researchers can use them to investigate what effect, if any, specific drugs may have on the microbiota of healthy individuals.

Some of the drugs used in the field of HIV/AIDS have the potential to alter the microbiota of an individual through gene transfer. Research continues to uncover all of these details and there is no doubt that further exploration of the microbiomes of the human body will continue. A more comprehensive understanding of all the microorganisms present in the body will provide scientists with a better understanding of how the body works. It is possible that the research that is still being conducted will provide valuable information to help with a wide range of other illnesses as well. Apart from the U.S., Japanese biotech companies are continuing their research on gut microbiota’s role in maintaining health and wellbeing with stool samples.