The term “microbiome” was first coined by Joshua Lederberg and refers to the vast array of diverse microbial organisms that have both biotic and abiotic ecological habitats. In humans, the microbiome is an integral part of the biological, including physiological, system and carries out essential functions for maintenance of overall health and well-being of the individual. The resident commensal microbiome dominates the human body in respect to the total number of microbial cells versus human cells. Dysbiosis (microbial imbalance) has been linked to diseases of the gut, skin, oral cavity, and more. The advancement in sequencing technologies has now made it possible to successfully identify the viable but non-culturable (VBNCs) microbial population that were previously not identified by traditional culture-based techniques.
Problem: Why do we observe considerable missing heritability estimates for chronic lifestyle disorders and complex diseases despite significant advances in studying the host genomic, epigenomic, and transcriptomic factors related to the disease phenotypes in humans?
Possible Reason: The development of a chronic lifestyle disorder or complex disease is dependent both on the host genetic background and epigenetic factors. The microbial population residing within the human body also likely contributes strongly to development of various disorders. Thus, it is imperative to study the host factors in conjunction with the microbiome to find the missing heritability of such complex disorders in humans. A microbiome-based study should address both culture-dependent and culture-independent analyses; thus, it is also important to develop technologies to dissect the host-microbiome interactions by development of experimental and animal model systems to study them.
A deep understanding of the importance of resident microbiome and dysbiosis in human diseases needs specialized knowledge in multi-omics data generation, analysis, and integration. This Research Topic aims to discuss the basic principles of host-microbiome interactions as well as integration of metagenomics, meta-transcriptomics, and metabolomics data in human health and disease. The specific topics that will be covered in this Research Topic are:
1. Host-Microbiome Association Studies in Metabolic Diseases
2. Human Microbiome and Cancer
3. Microbial Dysbiosis in Autoimmune Disorders
4. Role of microbiome in Maternal and Child Health
5. Statistical and Bioinformatic advances in metagenomic analysis
6. Single-cell genomics underlying the role of microbiome in health and disease
Topic Editor Rupak Mitra is employed by Unilever. All other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic subject.
The term “microbiome” was first coined by Joshua Lederberg and refers to the vast array of diverse microbial organisms that have both biotic and abiotic ecological habitats. In humans, the microbiome is an integral part of the biological, including physiological, system and carries out essential functions for maintenance of overall health and well-being of the individual. The resident commensal microbiome dominates the human body in respect to the total number of microbial cells versus human cells. Dysbiosis (microbial imbalance) has been linked to diseases of the gut, skin, oral cavity, and more. The advancement in sequencing technologies has now made it possible to successfully identify the viable but non-culturable (VBNCs) microbial population that were previously not identified by traditional culture-based techniques.
Problem: Why do we observe considerable missing heritability estimates for chronic lifestyle disorders and complex diseases despite significant advances in studying the host genomic, epigenomic, and transcriptomic factors related to the disease phenotypes in humans?
Possible Reason: The development of a chronic lifestyle disorder or complex disease is dependent both on the host genetic background and epigenetic factors. The microbial population residing within the human body also likely contributes strongly to development of various disorders. Thus, it is imperative to study the host factors in conjunction with the microbiome to find the missing heritability of such complex disorders in humans. A microbiome-based study should address both culture-dependent and culture-independent analyses; thus, it is also important to develop technologies to dissect the host-microbiome interactions by development of experimental and animal model systems to study them.
A deep understanding of the importance of resident microbiome and dysbiosis in human diseases needs specialized knowledge in multi-omics data generation, analysis, and integration. This Research Topic aims to discuss the basic principles of host-microbiome interactions as well as integration of metagenomics, meta-transcriptomics, and metabolomics data in human health and disease. The specific topics that will be covered in this Research Topic are:
1. Host-Microbiome Association Studies in Metabolic Diseases
2. Human Microbiome and Cancer
3. Microbial Dysbiosis in Autoimmune Disorders
4. Role of microbiome in Maternal and Child Health
5. Statistical and Bioinformatic advances in metagenomic analysis
6. Single-cell genomics underlying the role of microbiome in health and disease
Topic Editor Rupak Mitra is employed by Unilever. All other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic subject.
