{"title":"You have the microbiome you deserve.","authors":"Colin Hill","doi":"10.1017/gmb.2020.3","DOIUrl":"10.1017/gmb.2020.3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The human microbiome is one of the most exciting areas of microbiology. From a starting point of tens of papers annually a couple of decades ago, there are now thousands of papers published every year on the microbiome. Huge strides have been made in terms of defining the individual members of complex human microbiomes from different body sites. The individuality and diversity of the human microbiome almost surpasses our ability to comprehend it. Advances in metagenomics and computational sciences have increased the complexity of the field, while at the same time we have moved from regarding the human microbiome as a benign passenger to a situation where it has been linked to almost every chronic disease, including obesity, cancer and infectious disease. The microbiome tantalizes us with the promise of novel therapeutic molecules and modalities for a range of intractable diseases. And yet, very few microbiome-based therapies have made it to the clinic or the pharmacy and we still cannot really define a healthy microbiome. We are entering the most exciting phase of microbiome research, as we develop effective, evidence-based interventions to preserve and restore human health. But we need rigour and numeracy if we are to realize this vision.</p>","PeriodicalId":73187,"journal":{"name":"Gut microbiome (Cambridge, England)","volume":"1 1","pages":"e3"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11406403/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42707917","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Stacey Lockyer, Marisol Aguirre, Louise Durrant, Bruno Pot, Kaori Suzuki
{"title":"The role of probiotics on the roadmap to a healthy microbiota: a symposium report.","authors":"Stacey Lockyer, Marisol Aguirre, Louise Durrant, Bruno Pot, Kaori Suzuki","doi":"10.1017/gmb.2020.2","DOIUrl":"10.1017/gmb.2020.2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The ninth International Yakult Symposium was held in Ghent, Belgium in April 2018. Keynote lectures were from Professor Wijmenga on using biobanks to understand the relationship between the gut microbiota and health; and Professor Hill on phage-probiotic interactions. Session one included talks from Professor Plӧsch on epigenetic programming by nutritional and environmental factors; Professor Wilmes on the use of \"omics\" methodologies in microbiome research and Professor Rescigno on the gut vascular barrier. Session two explored the evidence behind <i>Lactobacillus casei</i> Shirota with Dr Nanno explaining the plasticity in immunomodulation that enables the strain to balance immune functions; Dr Macnaughtan outlining its potential therapeutic use in cirrhosis and Professor Nishida detailing effects in subjects under stress. The third session saw Professor Marchesi describing that both the host genes and the gut microbiota can play a role in cancer; Professor Bergheim highlighting crosstalk between the gut and the liver and Professor Cani describing the relationship between the gut microbiota and the endocrine system. The final session explored probiotic mechanisms, with Professor Lebeer dissecting the challenges in conducting mechanistic studies; Professor Wehkamp describing the mucosal defence system and Professor Van de Wiele detailing methods for modelling the gut microbiota <i>in vitro.</i></p>","PeriodicalId":73187,"journal":{"name":"Gut microbiome (Cambridge, England)","volume":" ","pages":"e2"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11406418/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47700431","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}