5 OCTOBER 2017 | Jason Lloyd-Price, Anup Mahurkar, Gholamali Rahnavard, Jonathan Crabtree, Joshua Orvis, A. Brantley Hall, Arthur Brady, Heather H. Creasy, Carrie McCracken, Michelle G. Giglio, Daniel McDonald, Eric A. Franzosa, Rob Knight, Owen White & Curtis Huttenhower
The study presents an expanded dataset from the Human Microbiome Project (HMP1-II), including 1,631 new metagenomes from 265 individuals, targeting six body sites. This data enables a deeper understanding of microbial diversity, strain variation, and functional profiles. Strain-level analysis revealed body-site-specific subspecies clades and identified species under-represented in isolate genomes. Functional profiling classified pathways into universal, human-enriched, and body-site-enriched categories. Temporal analysis decomposed microbial variation into rapidly variable, moderately variable, and stable subsets. The study highlights the importance of strain diversity and niche-specific adaptations in the human microbiome. It also identifies core pathways essential for microbial colonization, distinguishing those enriched in the human habitat from universal functions. The analysis of temporal variability shows that microbial communities exhibit dynamic changes, with some species showing inter-individual variation and others being more stable. The study also expands the gene catalog through improved assembly methods, revealing new gene families and functional annotations. The findings underscore the complexity of the human microbiome, emphasizing the need for further research to understand its role in health and disease. The study provides a comprehensive view of the human microbiome, highlighting the importance of personalized microbiome function and dynamics.The study presents an expanded dataset from the Human Microbiome Project (HMP1-II), including 1,631 new metagenomes from 265 individuals, targeting six body sites. This data enables a deeper understanding of microbial diversity, strain variation, and functional profiles. Strain-level analysis revealed body-site-specific subspecies clades and identified species under-represented in isolate genomes. Functional profiling classified pathways into universal, human-enriched, and body-site-enriched categories. Temporal analysis decomposed microbial variation into rapidly variable, moderately variable, and stable subsets. The study highlights the importance of strain diversity and niche-specific adaptations in the human microbiome. It also identifies core pathways essential for microbial colonization, distinguishing those enriched in the human habitat from universal functions. The analysis of temporal variability shows that microbial communities exhibit dynamic changes, with some species showing inter-individual variation and others being more stable. The study also expands the gene catalog through improved assembly methods, revealing new gene families and functional annotations. The findings underscore the complexity of the human microbiome, emphasizing the need for further research to understand its role in health and disease. The study provides a comprehensive view of the human microbiome, highlighting the importance of personalized microbiome function and dynamics.