"The gut microbiota (100 trillion cells) outnumber human cells by 10 to 1. Its composition of around 500 to 1000 species is specific for each individual and is dynamic, changing with age, health and diet.
In terms of numbers of cells, we are more bacteria than we are human, and the trillions of bacteria that inhabit our gut (our ‘microbiota’) are vital for biological processes and affect many aspects of health.
Research in the past two decades has now convincingly demonstrated that humans are “super-organisms”. We coexist with trillions of microorganisms, collectively termed the microbiota.
The gut microbiota of many mammals, including humans and farmed animals, plays a critical role in the digestion of plant polysaccharides (often called dietary fibre) from crops and the products of this anaerobic fermentation provide major health benefits to the host.
Dr T Gilman, Dr M Muldoon, Prof N Papadopoulos, Prof D Robertson
Application Deadline:
31 January 2019
Most of the cells in the human body are not human. There are rich microbial communities (i.e., microbiota) in our digestive tracts, our respiratory tracts, and on our skin.
The gut epithelium is a complex setting of intestinal cells and epithelial cells filled with transporters, enzymes and channels; these cells are then populated by bacteria (microbiota) that help with the metabolism of nutrients and transport into the blood stream.
By 2050, the world’s population aged >60 years is expected to be 2 billion, up from 900 million in 2015, a major concern for the individual and for society.One of the contributing factors is ageing of the immune system.
NDORMS 2019/12. By 2050, the world’s population aged >60 years is expected to be 2 billion, up from 900 million in 2015, which is a major concern for the individual and for society generally.
Our immune system must fight harmful pathogens, but remain silent against harmless substances such as the trillions of bacteria found in the gut that are beneficial for health.
The human large bowel contains ~1013 bacteria, referred to as the human gut microbiota or HGM. There is considerable interest in deploying prebiotic and probiotic strategies to maximise the impact of the HGM on human health.
