Microbiota are groups of organisms that live on and in some mammals. Animals, such as humans, who live in a state of mutualism with these organisms have them mostly on parts of their body with large surface areas. This includes skin and the intestinal tract. The human gut microbiome is a complex community of organisms that have been studied over the past decades and most intensely within the past fifteen years. So far the information on the human gut microbiome is limited and the research on it is somewhat inconclusive, raising more questions than it answers questions; however, that is a side effect of most research that is just beginning to be analyzed more in depth. The idea that we are just now starting to study and understand these organisms that have lived on and in us for centuries is a topic that is cutting edge and very interesting.

Microbiota

A short coverage of information about microbiota in the intestinal tract includes the following. In mammalian animals, these organisms play an important role in the formation of intestinal mucosa as well as a healthy systematic immune system. Animals that lack microbial cells contain abnormal numbers of several immune cell types and immune cell products, as well as have deficits in local and systemic lymphoid structures. Therefore, their spleens and lymph nodes in them are poorly formed and their intestinal mucosa, deficient. Mice with a lack of microbiota were known to have a lower amount of plasma producing cells – which make antibodies of a certain type. This is due to the fact that the microbiota is regulated by the plasma cells in mammals and it is found unnecessary to have a large amount of them in animals lacking the organisms. These mice also exhibited an impaired ability to regulate cytokine levels – any of a number of substances, such as interferon, interleukin, and growth factors, which are secreted by certain cells of the immune system.

In 2010 there was a study done that was comprised of making cultures of these organisms and bacteria in the human intestinal tract outside of the human body because we do not have the necessary technology to study the microbiota in their hosts. This study yielded the publication of a paper titled “Gut Microbiota in Health and Disease” which gives a detailed overview of the findings of this study. Briefly, a colonization of mice lacking microbiota with altered Schaedler flora (ASF) was insufficient to promote differentiation of Th17 cells (which play an important role in defense against infection), despite the fact that ASF includes a number of bacteria from the Bacteroidetes phylum (microbiota). Researchers concluded the there is no way to be sure of the affects of microbiota. Meaning although there was no lack of microbiota, the mice still had an immune system deficiency in the same way that mice lacking any microbiota did. Since the health and abundance of microbiota in the gut microbiome is so closely related with the ability of the immune system of the host, it is concluded that changes in the microbiome can lead to onset of diseases/illnesses in the host. These factors can also change with environmental changes such a dietary choices of the host. Understanding the dynamics of the gut microbiome under different conditions will help us diagnose and treat many diseases that are now known to be associated with microbial communities.

Analyzing the affects of microbiota in the human gut can reveal topics about human pathology that we did not know before. Therefore, scientists look forward to the development of studies on this topic.