Abstract
The human gut microbiota comprises a diverse microbial consortium closely co-evolved with the human genome and diet. The importance of the gut microbiota in regulating human health and disease has however been largely overlooked due to the inaccessibility of the intestinal habitat, the complexity of the gut microbiota itself and the fact that many of its members resist cultivation and are in fact new to science. However, with the emergence of 16S rRNA molecular tools and “post-genomics” high resolution technologies for examining microorganisms as they occur in nature without the need for prior laboratory culture, this limited view of the gut microbiota is rapidly changing. This review will discuss the application of molecular microbiological tools to study the human gut microbiota in a culture independent manner. Genomics or metagenomics approaches have a tremendous capability to generate compositional data and to measure the metabolic potential encoded by the combined genomes of the gut microbiota. Another post-genomics approach, metabonomics, has the capacity to measure the metabolic kinetic or flux of metabolites through an ecosystem at a particular point in time or over a time course. Metabonomics thus derives data on the function of the gut microbiota in situ and how it responds to different environmental stimuli e.g. substrates like prebiotics, antibiotics and other drugs and in response to disease. Recently these two culture independent, high resolution approaches have been combined into a single “transgenomic” approach which allows correlation of changes in metabolite profiles within human biofluids with microbiota compositional metagenomic data. Such approaches are providing novel insight into the composition, function and evolution of our gut microbiota.
Keywords: Metagenomics, metabonomics, microbiota, human, diet, prebiotic, fibre, intestine, gut
Current Pharmaceutical Design
Title: Studying the Human Gut Microbiota in the Trans-Omics Era - Focus on Metagenomics and Metabonomics
Volume: 15 Issue: 13
Author(s): Kieran M. Tuohy, Christos Gougoulias, Qing Shen, Gemma Walton, Francesca Fava and Priya Ramnani
Affiliation:
Keywords: Metagenomics, metabonomics, microbiota, human, diet, prebiotic, fibre, intestine, gut
Abstract: The human gut microbiota comprises a diverse microbial consortium closely co-evolved with the human genome and diet. The importance of the gut microbiota in regulating human health and disease has however been largely overlooked due to the inaccessibility of the intestinal habitat, the complexity of the gut microbiota itself and the fact that many of its members resist cultivation and are in fact new to science. However, with the emergence of 16S rRNA molecular tools and “post-genomics” high resolution technologies for examining microorganisms as they occur in nature without the need for prior laboratory culture, this limited view of the gut microbiota is rapidly changing. This review will discuss the application of molecular microbiological tools to study the human gut microbiota in a culture independent manner. Genomics or metagenomics approaches have a tremendous capability to generate compositional data and to measure the metabolic potential encoded by the combined genomes of the gut microbiota. Another post-genomics approach, metabonomics, has the capacity to measure the metabolic kinetic or flux of metabolites through an ecosystem at a particular point in time or over a time course. Metabonomics thus derives data on the function of the gut microbiota in situ and how it responds to different environmental stimuli e.g. substrates like prebiotics, antibiotics and other drugs and in response to disease. Recently these two culture independent, high resolution approaches have been combined into a single “transgenomic” approach which allows correlation of changes in metabolite profiles within human biofluids with microbiota compositional metagenomic data. Such approaches are providing novel insight into the composition, function and evolution of our gut microbiota.
Export Options
About this article
Cite this article as:
Tuohy M. Kieran, Gougoulias Christos, Shen Qing, Walton Gemma, Fava Francesca and Ramnani Priya, Studying the Human Gut Microbiota in the Trans-Omics Era - Focus on Metagenomics and Metabonomics, Current Pharmaceutical Design 2009; 15 (13) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138161209788168182
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138161209788168182 |
Print ISSN 1381-6128 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1873-4286 |
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
"Tuberculosis Prevention, Diagnosis and Drug Discovery"
The Nobel Prize-winning discoveries of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and streptomycin have enabled an appropriate diagnosis and an effective treatment of tuberculosis (TB). Since then, many newer diagnosis methods and drugs have been saving millions of lives. Despite advances in the past, TB is still a leading cause of infectious disease mortality ...read more
Current Pharmaceutical challenges in the treatment and diagnosis of neurological dysfunctions
Neurological dysfunctions (MND, ALS, MS, PD, AD, HD, ALS, Autism, OCD etc..) present significant challenges in both diagnosis and treatment, often necessitating innovative approaches and therapeutic interventions. This thematic issue aims to explore the current pharmaceutical landscape surrounding neurological disorders, shedding light on the challenges faced by researchers, clinicians, and ...read more
Emerging and re-emerging diseases
Faced with a possible endemic situation of COVID-19, the world has experienced two important phenomena, the emergence of new infectious diseases and/or the resurgence of previously eradicated infectious diseases. Furthermore, the geographic distribution of such diseases has also undergone changes. This context, in turn, may have a strong relationship with ...read more
Melanoma and Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer Treatment: Standard of Care and Recent Advances
In this thematic issue, we aim to provide a standard of care of the diagnosis and treatment of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer. The editor will invite authors from different countries who will write review articles of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers. The Diagnosis, Staging, Surgical Treatment, Non-Surgical Treatment all ...read more
- Author Guidelines
- Graphical Abstracts
- Fabricating and Stating False Information
- Research Misconduct
- Post Publication Discussions and Corrections
- Publishing Ethics and Rectitude
- Increase Visibility of Your Article
- Archiving Policies
- Peer Review Workflow
- Order Your Article Before Print
- Promote Your Article
- Manuscript Transfer Facility
- Editorial Policies
- Allegations from Whistleblowers
- Announcements
Related Articles
-
Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Protein: Pharmacological Inhibition for the Modulation of Plasma Cholesterol Levels and Promising Target for the Prevention of Atherosclerosis.
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) and Pregnancy: A Hypothetical View
Endocrine, Metabolic & Immune Disorders - Drug Targets Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System Antagonists and the Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Current Pharmaceutical Design Ethiopathogenesis, Diagnosis and Prevention of Vascular Calcification in End Stage Renal Disease
Current Medicinal Chemistry - Cardiovascular & Hematological Agents NAD(P)H Oxidase Activation: A Potential Target Mechanism for Diabetic Vascular Complications, Progressive β-Cell Dysfunction and Metabolic Syndrome
Current Drug Targets Efficient Expression and Purification of Recombinant Therapeutic Protein Candidates, Human Midkine and Pleiotrophin
Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Cardiovascular Complications in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Current Drug Targets Should Adipokines be Considered in the Choice of the Treatment of Obesity-Related Health Problems?
Current Drug Targets Developments in Non-Surgical Therapies for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
Current Vascular Pharmacology The Effects of Prostaglandin E-1 in Patients with Intermittent Claudication
Cardiovascular & Hematological Disorders-Drug Targets Does Vitamin K Intake Influence High Phosphate Induced Vascular Pseudo-ossification: An Underappreciated Therapeutic Prospect in General Population?
Current Drug Targets Understanding Membrane Protein Drug Targets in Computational Perspective
Current Drug Targets Stroke Subtypes and their Possible Implication in Stroke Prevention Drug Strategies
Current Vascular Pharmacology Pregnancy in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus - Problems & Promises
Current Diabetes Reviews Therapeutic Angiogenesis: Recent and Future Prospects of Gene Therapy in Peripheral Artery Disease
Current Gene Therapy Prevention of Upper Gastrointestinal Ulcer and Complications in Low-Dose Aspirin Users
Current Pharmaceutical Design Strategies for Diabetes Prevention Before and After Pregnancy in Women with GDM
Current Diabetes Reviews 4-Hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl Substituted 3-methyl-tetrahydroquinoline Derivatives Obtained Through Imino Diels-Alder Reactions as Potential Antitumoral Agents
Letters in Drug Design & Discovery Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 in Vascular Thrombosis
Current Drug Targets Hyaluronan/Hyaladherins - a Promising Axis for Targeted Drug Delivery in Cancer
Current Drug Delivery