What is a microbiome?
Microbiome:
To put it simply, a microbiome is an area and its genetic material. The microorganisms (or combined genetic material) such as human cells, bacteria, archaea, fungi, viruses, and other prokaryotes and the particular environment in which they live. We have an oral microbiome, a vaginal microbiome, an ocular microbiome, an integumentary microbiome, and so on! We often focus on the human gut microbiome, aka, the collection of organisms that reside in our human guts.
“Microbiota'' is a term used for the microorganisms. Microbiome refers to the whole environment, while microbiota refers to just the microorganisms. Micro=tiny, bio=life, aka, our teensy living companions!
Why should I care?
Well first off, because you have/are a microbiome! Each microbiome, and our overall human microbiome, plays a vast and mostly-unknown role in our physiology and daily life; from determining allergies, how attractive we are to mosquitoes, our food cravings, our vaginal comfort, our moods, and so much more! If we care for our more helpful microorganisms, we can generally live in symbiosis (or, partnership) and reap the benefits that these bacteria can provide us! The more we learn, the better we can do and be. We can work with our microbiota, instead of ignoring them or actively working against them, as have both been done in the past. “What is becoming more apparent is that a wide array of conditions ranging from chronic inflammatory and metabolic diseases to neurological disorders and cancer have now been associated with microbiome functional perturbations.” (Rackaityte, E., Lynch, 2020)
Go on…
These microscopic passengers have been living with us since our species existed. In fact, microbes have been around tremendously longer than we have, and are likely to outlive us. Research over time will uncover the infinite ways that our microbiome has played a role in human development, both as a species and as individuals. We receive our first “bugs” at birth (or possibly before) and as we age and explore and eat and medicate and live, the components of our microbiome adjust. These adjustments can affect our health and wellness.
Attention to the microbiome is the future of medicine. “Microbial ecosystem management, involving precision nutrition and rational microbial supplementation to promote or reinstate microbial functional networks eroded by Western lifestyles and urban exposures may become increasingly important.” (Rackaityte, E., Lynch, 2020) Microbiome science is in its infancy, and faces intense challenges due to the number of bacteria species and strains and the difficulty of culturing most bacteria outside of the body. In your lifetime, the advancements made in this field will dramatically influence the human experience, and change the approach to health and wellness as we know it.
TLDR: A microbiome is the name for a space and all of the microscopic genetic material that it contains. For example, we have our overall human microbiome, or smaller components of that, like a vaginal microbiome, foot microbiome, etc. You have/are a microbiome, so the more you can learn about and support it, the healthier you will be!
Sources and helpful info:
Rackaityte, E., Lynch, S.V. (2020, October 16). The human microbiome in the 21st century. Nat Commun 11, 5256.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18983-8.pdf
Ursell, L. K., Metcalf, J. L., Parfrey, L. W., & Knight, R. (2012). Defining the human microbiome. Nutrition reviews, 70 Suppl 1(Suppl 1), S38–S44.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3426293/pdf/nihms369735.pdf
