You have the microbiome you deserve

Colin Hill

doi:10.1017/gmb.2020.3

Abstract

ABSTRACT The human microbiome is one of the most exciting areas of microbiology. From a starting point of tens of papers annually a couple of decades ago, there are now thousands of papers published every year on the microbiome. Huge strides have been made in terms of defining the individual members of complex human microbiomes from different body sites. The individuality and diversity of the human microbiome almost surpasses our ability to comprehend it. Advances in metagenomics and computational sciences have increased the complexity of the field, while at the same time we have moved from regarding the human microbiome as a benign passenger to a situation where it has been linked to almost every chronic disease, including obesity, cancer and infectious disease. The microbiome tantalizes us with the promise of novel therapeutic molecules and modalities for a range of intractable diseases. And yet, very few microbiome-based therapies have made it to the clinic or the pharmacy and we still cannot really define a healthy microbiome. We are entering the most exciting phase of microbiome research, as we develop effective, evidence-based interventions to preserve and restore human health. But we need rigour and numeracy if we are to realize this vision.

Highlights

How did you come to assemble the enormously diverse community of microbes that live in and on your body? Have you got the ‘right’ ones in the right balance? Is your microbiome helping to maintain your health, is it contributing to ongoing episodes of ill-health, or will it someday lead to your premature death? In 1934 the Dutch scientists Baas-Becking (1934) and deWit and Bouvier (2006) wrote ‘Everything is everywhere, but, the environment selects’. This simple statement should resonate with every scientist contemplating the human microbiome
Some of my microbiome colleagues might interject at this point that we do have some general principles, we know that diversity is a good thing, and community stability and resilience is a good thing
We have become used to seeing scatter plots of diversity or richness in disease versus control where the most striking aspect to the casual viewer is the overlap between the groups, despite the statistical significance captured in the low P values decorating each figure

Summary

Introduction

How did you come to assemble the enormously diverse community of microbes that live in and on your body? This simple statement should resonate with every scientist contemplating the human microbiome.

Results

Conclusion