We are not alone. Each of us harbours about 100 trillion microbes that make up our microbiome.
They are mostly bacteria that live on and in us and function to ensure our health. Some help us digest plant matter. Others shape our immune systems early in life. Infants who lack certain gut bacteria tend to be more at risk for allergies and asthma. New research is finding connections between shortfalls in our microbiome and the development of lung disease, heart disease, obesity and even certain cancers. That we know all this is thanks to relatively recent advances in sequencing their DNA.
“In the last decade, technology has allowed us to see the microbiome for what it is and have a reasonable understanding of its diversity,” said Bill Mohn, a professor in the University of British Columbia’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology. “We probably see 10 times more organisms than we could culture just a decade ago.”
We know that the things we eat can influence the kind of bacteria we harbour in our bodies. In fact, mother’s milk contains carbohydrates and proteins that can’t be digested by infants but are essential to the health of a gut bacteria called Bifidobacterium. In return, Bifidobacterium keeps away organisms that are harmful to the child.
The goal of the research is to better understand the kinds of bacteria and other microorganisms that make up our microbiomes, discover how they interact with each other and how they help prevent or cause disease.
“Many of the medical problems we have today have to do with malfunctioning immune systems and it seems the microbiome is the cause of the problem and perhaps the solution to the problem,” Mohn said. “We may get to the point where we can test a person’s microbiome and find problems.”
If you would like to learn more, the UBC Life Sciences Institute and the Personalized Medicine Initiative are holding a free public talk on “Your Microbiome – How the Bugs Living in You and on Your Affect Your Health” this Wednesday at the Vancouver Public Library Central Branch from 6 – 8 p.m.
More information can be found here.
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