Impact of Microbiome Studies on Human Healthcare Jani Kunal1,2, Sharma Avinash2, Rale Vinay3, Shouche Yogesh4 1Research Scholar, Symbiosis School of Biological Sciences, Symbiosis International University, Pune, India 2Scientist, Microbial Culture Collection, National Centre for Cell Science, Pune, India 3Professor & Director, Symbiosis School of Biological Sciences, Symbiosis International University, Pune, India 4Scientist, National Centre for Cell Science, Pune, India Online published on 29 December, 2017. Abstract Background Although distinct microbial communities inhabit all body surfaces most of them are located in the intestine. Genome of these microorganisms collectively forms microbiome; of which gut microbiome plays a vital role in human well-being by contributing to metabolism, immune system development, and pathogen regulation. It is also influenced by age, dietary habits, socio-economic status, geographic location, genetic makeup of individuals and varied states of dysbiosis, i.e.., microbial imbalance which leads to a myriad of changes throughout the lifetime. For developing microbiome-based therapies, it is crucial to deduce the relationship between different microbes in an intestinal ecosystem. Purpose Advancement in the sequencing technology has made it easier to identify the bacterial population residing in an ecosystem at a given time but the evaluation of varied degree of complex interactions between different bacteria is still in its infancy. A study of such kind will provide a systematic approach for further scientific investigations. Approach Researchers have studied human microbiome by employing next generation sequencing platforms; findings from these studies provide the basis to formulate the network of microbial interactions; while its validation may demand experimentation. Findings Study focusing on diet and geography by Bhute, et. al., suggests the enrichment of Prevotella and Megasphaera in Indian population-Prevotella is known for degrading complex plant polysaccharides and Megasphaeracan produce short chain fatty acids. There exist a plethora of such observations on association of bacteria in healthy and dysbiosis states like IBD, asthma, insulin resistance, obesity, etc. Research implications Network stimulations holds great promise for researchers from diverse disciplines and particularly so to the healthcare professionals. Originality Bioinformatic tools address the bacterial interactions merely on the basis of numbers but our approach of systematic incorporation of data will provide better insights on such interactions. Top Keywords Dysbiosis, Human microbiome, Next generation sequencing, stimulation models. Top |