Course: SAT 170 Introductory Biotechnology

Unit 9 Learning Module

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Microbiome Project

A rain forest pond is one of the most diverse biomes. Each biome is defined by the particular organisms that inhabit it and the climate of the region in which that biome is located.

The human microbiome project (HMP) is being undertaken by a collection of researchers in order to gain a better understanding of the role that microorganisms play in our own health and well-being.
A microbiome is a complete collection of microbes in a particular area. A microbiome is analyzed by collecting microbial samples and analyzing their DNA content.

The image to the right is a schematic of a microbiome project. Notice how you begin with the “raw sequences”, these are those collected from the environment to create the metagenomics data as these samples are sequenced. This information can be used to compare sequences and determine relatedness between organisms (left branch of the figure) or they can be used to evaluate the metabolic properties of these microbes (right branch of the figure).

The earth microbiome project (EMP) is a world-wide research endeavor that seeks to the microbiomes of various biomes across the planet. A biome has a particular biodiversity and climate and it is believed that we can gain a better understanding of these biomes if we know more about the organisms inhabiting them. This is an example of metagenomics which focuses on studying metagenomes. Unlike the genomes from cultured organisms that are used for things such as creating DNA libraries (discussed in unit 7), a metagenome is the genetic material that has been collected directly from the environment. Samples are being collected all over the world and are being subjected to a DNA sequencing protocol to generate sequences of DNA for the various microorganisms present in those samples. These sequences are then loaded into a database that will allow researchers to store and analyze the data. This analysis will allow researchers to paint a picture of the microbial diversity as well as the metabolome of a particular area. The metabolome is defined as the complete collection of metabolic products and intermediates, known as metabolites, in a biological sample. This type of information is thought to be invaluable for our understanding of our ecosystem and the impacts that humans have on that ecosystem as it provides dynamic information about what nutrients organisms are using and which ones are available in that ecosystem.

Analyzing the microbial communities associated with the human body is the focus of the human microbiome project (HMP). This understanding can provide valuable insight into the role that microorganisms may play in the development of particular diseases and disorders such as diabetes and obesity. The HMP represents an invaluable source of information, particularly for the medical field, but it also represents a significant amount of work. The reason for this is that we have microbes associated with almost every part of our body especially our skin, mouth, nasal passages, digestive tract, and urogenital tract.  Also, research indicates that there are more microbial cells in and on our body than there are human cells. This association to our bodies is an example of symbiosis, where two organisms live in close association with one another. The collection of microorganisms in and on our bodies is often referred to as our microbial flora. By comparing the microbial flora of healthy and diseased individuals, we may begin to understand how the colonization of our bodies by the various microorganisms can impact our health.

The complex collection of microorganisms associated with our bodies, focusing on those species that are found on our skin and the proportions in which they are found in this location.