What exactly is the Human Microbiology Project?

The Human Microbiome Project is an extension of the Human Genome Project, which focuses on the relationship between changes in the structure of the microbial flora in the human body (surface) and human health through metagenomic methods.

Understanding the microbes that are closely related to humans can help us better understand ourselves.

It is beneficial to the prevention of human diseases and has a reference role for many major problems.

Microbiotics and the microorganisms of the "Human Genome Project" have played the role of leading model debate organisms and accelerated the progress of the Human Genome Project. Microbial genomics research will be comprehensive;

The microbiology research associated with it will be greatly developed;

More attention will be paid to the characteristics and commonalities of microbial life phenomena;

Achieve wider intersections with other disciplines and obtain new developments;The microbial industry will take on a new situation.

Since the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003, many scientists have realized that deciphering the genes of the human genome does not fully grasp the key issues of human disease and health, because humans are almost ignorant of the huge number of microbes that exist in their bodies that live in symbiosis with the human body. The number of microbial cells in the human body is 10 times that of cells in the human body, and preliminary studies have shown that the total number of genes contained in the human genome is 100 times that of the total number of genes contained in the human genome. However, due to the limitations of traditional microbiology research methods, there is no research data on more than 95% of the microorganisms that live in their own bodies.

Ultimately, human microbiome research will help humans make breakthroughs in health assessment and monitoring, new drug development and personalized medicine, and early diagnosis and development of chronic diseases.

In 2006, the research group of Professor Nicholson of Imperial College London reported in the journal Nature that rats with the same genetic line could be divided into two types by conducting a full-spectrum measurement of urine metabolites in rats before administration, and after being given high doses of the same drug, one type showed symptoms of liver toxicity and the other was unharmed. The study found that the urine metabolites that could distinguish individuals with highly similar genetic characteristics were mainly produced by the intestinal flora, and rats without symptoms of hepatotoxicity had bacteria in the gut that could detoxify the drug and protect the host. It can be seen that the genetic composition of the gut microbiome is closely related to the individual's sensitivity to drugs.

Recently, they reported in the journal Nature that through the analysis of urine metabolomics of 4,630 volunteers in 17 different regions in four countries, including China, the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom, they found that hypertension is closely related to the composition of intestinal microbiota.

Recent research advances have shown that structurally abnormal gut microbiota is likely to be a direct cause of metabolic diseases caused by improper dietary structure, such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and stroke.

The Gordon group of the University of Washington reported in the journal Nature in 2006 that the intestinal flora of obese mice can convert indigestible plant fibers into short-chain fatty acids for the human body to absorb and utilize, increasing the body's ability to obtain calories from food. Bacteria can also directly regulate the gene expression activity of human fat metabolism pathways, reduce the oxidation of fatty acids, and increase the synthesis of triglycerides from the source. Researchers believe that a certain factor produced by the intestinal flora is likely necessary for the initiation of obesity in the body.

In 2007, the Gibson team of Reading University in the United Kingdom reported in the journal "Diabetes" that high-fat foods significantly reduce bacteria that protect the intestinal barrier such as bifidobacteria, resulting in a significant increase in endotoxin-producing bacteria, resulting in an increase in endotoxins entering the bloodstream, causing low-grade chronic inflammation, and finally leading to a series of metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance. This study was conducted in animal models, and what happens in humans still needs to be studied. The study of the genes of human symbiotic microorganisms provides an innovative thinking and method for elucidating the development of various chronic diseases such as metabolic diseases, and brings new hope for the effective prevention and development of these diseases.

The Human Microbiome Project is an extension of the Human Foundation Quantum Project, which focuses on the relationship between the changes in the structure of microbial flora in the human body (surface) and human health through metagenomics.

There are two genomes in the human body, one is the human genome inherited from the parents, which encodes about 10,000 genes; The other is more than 1,000 kinds of symbiotic microorganisms that enter the human body, especially in the intestines, after birth, and the sum of their noisy genetic information is called "microbiome", which can also be called "metagenome", and they encode more than 1 million genes. The two genomes are in harmony with each other to ensure the health of the human body. Therefore, when studying the relationship between genes and human health, we must not ignore the virtual state study of symbiotic microbial genes.