Developing microbiome research in Africa: the essential role of clinician scientists

Abstract

We read with interest the Comment by Kouidhi and Oduaran, in which they advocate the standardization of microbiome data collection across Africa (Kouidhi, S. & Oduaran, O. H. Strengthening the foundation of African microbiome research: strategies for standardized data collection. Nat. Rev. Gastroenterol. Hepatol. 21, 742–743 (2024))¹. They highlight the tremendous opportunities of African microbiome research, while also acknowledging the potential obstacles to its implementation, which include the absence of standardized frameworks for metadata collection. To overcome these obstacles, they propose several recommendations, including the development of standardized templates, the launch of training programmes to educate researchers, the implementation of centralized databases that exploit state-of-the-art computational tools and machine learning, regular monitoring and feedback-based improvement of processes, and proactive engagement of local communities.

The present era is particularly fruitful for microbiome research, as after decades of research we have started to observe the clinical implementation of such efforts. For example, faecal microbiota transplantation is an established treatment option for recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection and is currently being investigated for chronic non-communicable diseases². In addition, live biotherapeutic products have been approved by the FDA and are currently marketed in the USA². An increasing number of studies are also exploring the diagnostic potential of the microbiome in different clinical areas, such as in colorectal cancer³, inflammatory bowel disease⁴ and cancer immunotherapy⁵. Moreover, global recommendations to standardize microbiome diagnostics have been released⁶. Taken together, these translational efforts, along with a decrease in sequencing costs and free availability of most computational software⁷, are expected to promote the development of African microbiome research and boost its clinical application. This last step has considerable potential for healthcare improvement in Africa, where the epidemiology of cancer and non-communicable diseases is progressively worsening^8,9.