Examining the healthy human microbiome concept

Raphaela Joos, Katy Boucher, Aonghus Lavelle, Manimozhiyan Arumugam, Martin J. Blaser, Marcus J. Claesson, Gerard Clarke, Paul D. Cotter, Luisa De Sordi, Maria G. Dominguez-Bello, Bas E. Dutilh, Stanislav D. Ehrlich, Tarini Shankar Ghosh, Colin Hill, Christophe Junot, Leo Lahti, Trevor D. Lawley, Tine R. Licht, Emmanuelle Maguin, Thulani P. MakhalanyaneJulian R. Marchesi, Jelle Matthijnssens, Jeroen Raes, Jacques Ravel, Anne Salonen, Pauline D. Scanlan, Andrey Shkoporov, Catherine Stanton, Ines Thiele, Igor Tolstoy, Jens Walter, Bo Yang, Natalia Yutin, Alexandra Zhernakova, Hub Zwart, Lisa Derosa, Laurence Zitvogel, Patrick Veiga, Corrado Vecchi, Jonel Trebicka, Debora Serra, Nicola Segata, Robert Schierwagen, Arjun Sarati, Julie Rodriquez, Moez Rhimi, Philippe Ravaud, Pierre Louis Prost, Aleksander Krag, Mads Israelsen, Human Microbiome Action consortium

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Human microbiomes are essential to health throughout the lifespan and are increasingly recognized and studied for their roles in metabolic, immunological and neurological processes. Although the full complexity of these microbial communities is not fully understood, their clinical and industrial exploitation is well advanced and expanding, needing greater oversight guided by a consensus from the research community. One of the most controversial issues in microbiome research is the definition of a ‘healthy’ human microbiome. This concept is complicated by the microbial variability over different spatial and temporal scales along with the challenge of applying a unified definition to the spectrum of healthy microbiome configurations. In this Perspective, we examine the progress made and the key gaps that remain to be addressed to fully harness the benefits of the human microbiome. We propose a road map to expand our knowledge of the microbiome–health relationship, incorporating epidemiological approaches informed by the unique ecological characteristics of these communities.

Original languageEnglish
JournalNature Reviews Microbiology
ISSN1740-1526
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 2024

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