The Human Microbiome Project: A Community Resource for the Healthy Human Microbiome

The Human Microbiome Project (HMP) [1],[2] is a concept that was long in the making. After the Human Genome Project, interest grew in sequencing the “other genome" of microbes carried in and on the human body [3],[4]. Microbial ecologists, realizing that >99% of environmental microbes could...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Gevers, Dirk
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Format: Article
Language:en_US
Published: Public Library of Science 2013
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/77220
_version_ 1826189064585347072
author Gevers, Dirk
author2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
author_facet Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Gevers, Dirk
author_sort Gevers, Dirk
collection MIT
description The Human Microbiome Project (HMP) [1],[2] is a concept that was long in the making. After the Human Genome Project, interest grew in sequencing the “other genome" of microbes carried in and on the human body [3],[4]. Microbial ecologists, realizing that >99% of environmental microbes could not be easily cultured, developed approaches to study microorganisms in situ [5], primarily by sequencing the 16S ribosomal RNA gene (16S) as a phylogenetic and taxonomic marker to identify members of microbial communities [6]. The need to develop corresponding new methods for culture-independent studies [7],[8] in turn precipitated a sea change in the study of microbes and human health, inspiring the new term “metagenomics" [9] both to describe a technological approach—sequencing and analysis of the genes from whole communities rather than from individual genomes—and to emphasize that microbes function within communities rather than as individual species. This shift from a focus on individual organisms to microbial interactions [10] culminated in a National Academy of Science report [11], which outlined challenges and promises for metagenomics as a way of understanding the foundational role of microbial communities both in the environment and in human health.
first_indexed 2024-09-23T08:08:57Z
format Article
id mit-1721.1/77220
institution Massachusetts Institute of Technology
language en_US
last_indexed 2024-09-23T08:08:57Z
publishDate 2013
publisher Public Library of Science
record_format dspace
spelling mit-1721.1/772202022-09-23T11:13:06Z The Human Microbiome Project: A Community Resource for the Healthy Human Microbiome Gevers, Dirk Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Gevers, Dirk The Human Microbiome Project (HMP) [1],[2] is a concept that was long in the making. After the Human Genome Project, interest grew in sequencing the “other genome" of microbes carried in and on the human body [3],[4]. Microbial ecologists, realizing that >99% of environmental microbes could not be easily cultured, developed approaches to study microorganisms in situ [5], primarily by sequencing the 16S ribosomal RNA gene (16S) as a phylogenetic and taxonomic marker to identify members of microbial communities [6]. The need to develop corresponding new methods for culture-independent studies [7],[8] in turn precipitated a sea change in the study of microbes and human health, inspiring the new term “metagenomics" [9] both to describe a technological approach—sequencing and analysis of the genes from whole communities rather than from individual genomes—and to emphasize that microbes function within communities rather than as individual species. This shift from a focus on individual organisms to microbial interactions [10] culminated in a National Academy of Science report [11], which outlined challenges and promises for metagenomics as a way of understanding the foundational role of microbial communities both in the environment and in human health. National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant U54HG004969) National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant U54HG004973) National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant U54AI084844) National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant U01HG004866) National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant R01HG005969) National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant R01HG004872) United States. Army Research Office (grant W911NF-11-1-0473) National Science Foundation (U.S.) (NSF DBI-1053486) Howard Hughes Medical Institute (Early Career Scientist) 2013-02-27T19:32:46Z 2013-02-27T19:32:46Z 2012-08 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1544-9173 1945-7885 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/77220 Gevers, Dirk et al. “The Human Microbiome Project: A Community Resource for the Healthy Human Microbiome.” PLoS Biology 10.8 (2012): e1001377. CrossRef. Web. en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001377 PLoS Biology Creative Commons Attribution http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ application/pdf Public Library of Science PLoS
spellingShingle Gevers, Dirk
The Human Microbiome Project: A Community Resource for the Healthy Human Microbiome
title The Human Microbiome Project: A Community Resource for the Healthy Human Microbiome
title_full The Human Microbiome Project: A Community Resource for the Healthy Human Microbiome
title_fullStr The Human Microbiome Project: A Community Resource for the Healthy Human Microbiome
title_full_unstemmed The Human Microbiome Project: A Community Resource for the Healthy Human Microbiome
title_short The Human Microbiome Project: A Community Resource for the Healthy Human Microbiome
title_sort human microbiome project a community resource for the healthy human microbiome
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/77220
work_keys_str_mv AT geversdirk thehumanmicrobiomeprojectacommunityresourceforthehealthyhumanmicrobiome
AT geversdirk humanmicrobiomeprojectacommunityresourceforthehealthyhumanmicrobiome