Microbiome

The Microbiome topic includes research on collections of microbes (such as bacteria, fungi, or viruses) and their impact on the health of the organism that they naturally live on or inside. It includes research on transplantation of microbes.

The groups of microorganisms that live in or on humans tend to colonize certain environments, like the mouth, the gut, the skin, or the genitourinary tract, each of which has its own microbiome. Some of the microbes are commensal, or beneficial; some are not. Gut microbes, for instance, generally help break down food. Sometimes the balance of the microbial population goes awry, and something pathogenic causes illness, or worse.

The microbiome of the gastrointestinal tract has been implicated in the human immune response and in formation and development of cancers. The microbiome of cancer tumors themselves can affect both the prognosis and treatment prescribed.