MICROBIAL PLANET

Microbes)are)everywhere
T H E N E W S C I E N C E O F M E TA G E N O M I C S
• M.ecol.)studies)the)microbial)
mechanisms)and)interactions)biological)
processes)

• We re)seeing)an)unprecedented)rate)
of)discovery.)Everywhere)we)look,)
microbes)seem)to)be)involved. Rob)
Knight)in)"The)Washington)Post",)
October)9)2011.

Blaser,(MJ,(2010(PNAS,(107,(14,(6125–6126

NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
 Microbes)are)ubiquitous

• Early&animals&in&the&
Cambrian&were&colonized&by&
microbes

• Every&part&of&the&body&
supports&a&distinct&microbial&
community&(HMP&
Consortium&2012)

Blaser,(MJ,(2010(PNAS,(107,(14,(6125–6126
http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/hmp
The$goal of$the$Human$
Microbiome Project,$funded$by$
the$NIH$Roadmap,$is$to$
characterize$the$microbial$
content$of$sites$in$the$human$
body$and$examine$whether$
changes$in$the$microbiome can$
be$related$to$disease.

The$$150$million$initiative$was$started$in$2007$by$
the$National$Institutes$of$Health.$The$project$team$is$
gathering$samples$from$18$different$sites$on$the$
bodies$of$300$volunteers.

Egastrointestinal$tract$(800$phylotypes)
Eoral$cavity$(500$phylotypes)
Evagina$(200$phylotypes)
Eskin$(100$phylotypes)