Chapter 96 - The human microbiota and its therapeutic options

Abstract

As we all know, we live in an environment full of microbes. In addition to our own cells, our bodies contain up to 1014 microbial cells, which are called human microbiota. Microorganisms inside the human body do not simply act as pathogens but also play an important role in host health. Over the long course of evolution, the human microbiota adapted to our internal microenvironment and developed a symbiotic relationship with humans. Microbial genomes encode many enzymatic genes involved in numerous metabolic processes which supplement the limited metabolic function of human body. In addition, the human microbiota plays a very important role in the host’s health and immune function. These microbial communities reside in many human body sites such as the gut, oral cavity, respiratory system, skin, and reproductive system. The gut microbiota is most complex microbial community within our body and has the biggest influence on the host’s health. With the development of high-throughput sequencing, metabolomics, and other molecular biology technologies, now it is able to investigate the interaction and correlation between the human microbiota and its host through the changes of nucleic acid, protein, lipid, and other biological macromolecules.