Microbiome - Human Microbiome

Human Microbiome

For the members of the human microbiome, see human microbiome

The human microbiome consists of about 100 trillion microbial cells, outnumbering human cells 10 to 1. Thus it can significantly affect human physiology. For example, in healthy individuals the microbiota provide a wide range of metabolic functions that humans lack. In diseased inviduals altered microbiota are associated with diseases such as neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis, inflammatory bowel disease and vaginosis. Thus studying the human microbiome is an important task that has been undertaken by initiatives such as the Human Microbiome Project and MetaHIT.