The human microbiome and metabolomics: Current concepts and applications

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Metabolomics
• Gastroenterology

Background:

• The mammalian gastrointestinal tract harbors a complex microbial community co-evolved over millions of years.
• Gut microbes are integral to host health, influencing metabolic pathways and host phenotypes through host-microbiota metabolic signaling.
• Microbial dysbiosis can alter host and microbial co-metabolite levels, serving as potential disease biomarkers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the current understanding of the gut microbiome and its relationship with host metabolism.
• To explore the applications of metablomics in studying host-microbiota interactions.
• To discuss future perspectives in microbiome and metablomics research for health and disease.

Main Methods:

• This review synthesizes current scientific literature on the gut microbiome and metablomics.
• It examines the role of host-microbiota metabolic signaling in maintaining host health.
• The review discusses the identification of microbial and host co-metabolites as potential disease markers.

Main Results:

• The gut microbiome significantly influences host metabolic pathways and phenotypes.
• Alterations in co-metabolites due to dysbiosis can indicate disease states.
• Metabolic fingerprints offer insights into manipulating the microbiome for therapeutic benefits.

Conclusions:

• Understanding the interplay between the gut microbiome and host metabolism is crucial for health.
• Metabolomics provides powerful tools for identifying disease biomarkers and developing targeted interventions.
• Future research holds promise for harnessing microbiome-metabolome interactions to promote health and treat diseases.