Interesting Microbiome Factoids
Due to technological advances in science, research in the last decade has greatly expanded to better understand the microbiome. Here are some interesting factoids about the microbiome.
Humans are Superorganisms: We’re not just us. The human body is a complex colony (Zhu, 2010). 99% of the DNA represented in our body is microbial DNA (Qin, 2010). Microbiome research has turned our understanding of genetic influence in the body on its head.What if we nurture our microbiome, can we change the DNA expression that impacts our health? Yes.
Our Second Brain: I learned in medical school that half of the neurotransmitters (chemicals that regulate brain function, including mental health) are made in your gut. It turns out that a more recent study shows that 90% of serotonin and 50% of dopamine is made in our gut and travels to our brain (Yano, 2015)
Technology and microbiome: As technology develops, we may be able to predict disease development decades before it begins. Parkinsons has proved to be a microbiome-related disease. Turns out that we can detect changes in the microbiome that lead to Parkinson’s disease decades before symptoms develop. Will smart toilets with microbiome readers warn us if we are doomed for developing autism, pelvic pain syndromes, and irritable bowel? (Pietrucci, 2020)
From day 1: Our microbiome is established in the first year of our life, beginning as we pass through the vaginal canal at birth. Science is still trying to understand the impact that early antibiotics, cesarean delivery, and very early baby care impact lifelong risks for microbiome disruption (Stinson, 2018)
Diversity is the key: There are trillions of bacteria in the human body, and certainly more microbial cells than human cells. When any one kind of microbe over-reproduces itself we can develop dysbiosis. Learn about dysbiosis.
Citations and resources:
Pietrucci D, Teofani A, Unida V, et al. Can Gut Microbiota Be a Good Predictor for Parkinson's Disease? A Machine Learning Approach. Brain Sci. 2020;10(4):242. Published 2020 Apr 19. doi:10.3390/brainsci10040242
Qin J, Li R, Raes J, et al. A human gut microbial gene catalogue established by metagenomic sequencing. Nature. 2010;464(7285):59-65. doi:10.1038/nature08821
Stinson LF, Payne MS, Keelan JA. A Critical Review of the Bacterial Baptism Hypothesis and the Impact of Cesarean Delivery on the Infant Microbiome. Front Med (Lausanne). 2018;5:135. Published 2018 May 4. doi:10.3389/fmed.2018.00135
Yano JM, Yu K, Donaldson GP, et al. Indigenous bacteria from the gut microbiota regulate host serotonin biosynthesis [published correction appears in Cell. 2015 Sep 24;163:258]. Cell. 2015;161(2):264-276. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2015.02.047
Zhu B, Wang X, Li L. Human gut microbiome: the second genome of human body. Protein Cell. 2010;1(8):718-725. doi:10.1007/s13238-010-0093-z