{"id":14851,"date":"2021-06-27T09:00:57","date_gmt":"2021-06-26T23:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/?p=14851"},"modified":"2024-06-25T14:13:29","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T04:13:29","slug":"did-you-know-your-microbiomes-are-as-unique-as-your-fingerprints-get-to-know-your-gut-this-world-microbiome-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/2021\/06\/27\/did-you-know-your-microbiomes-are-as-unique-as-your-fingerprints-get-to-know-your-gut-this-world-microbiome-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Did you know your microbiomes are as unique as your fingerprints? Get to know your gut this World Microbiome Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0body supports a significant bacterial ecosystem whose functions\u00a0can\u00a0impact on\u00a0your health,\u00a0but did you know that\u00a0the\u00a0composition\u00a0of these microbiomes\u00a0is unique to\u00a0you?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For\u00a0<\/span>World Microbiome Day 2021<\/span><\/a>\u00a0on\u00a027 June,\u00a0Senior Lecturer and\u00a0Infectious Diseases and Immunology\u00a0Researcher\u00a0<\/span>Dr Nic West<\/span><\/a>\u00a0talks to us about microbiomes, the \u2018Aussie\u00a0Gut\u2019 project\u00a0and the impact of his research.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Q & A:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u00a0is\u00a0the\u00a0microbiome?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The microbiome (or microbiota)\u00a0is a\u00a0collection of\u00a0microorganisms, like viruses,\u00a0bacteria\u00a0and fungi, that live\u00a0in and on\u00a0our body\u00a0but are not part of our normal human physiology.\u00a0These microbiomes can be in the\u00a0gut or intestinal\u00a0tract\u2014our area of interest\u2014or\u00a0in our skin cells.\u00a0In fact, we’re more bacterial than we are human:\u00a0for each human cell\u00a0in our body\u00a0there\u00a0are almost 1,000\u00a0bacterial cells in our gut!\u00a0And\u00a0whilst research suggests that bacterial diversity and the abundance of\u00a0particular species\u00a0are important to promote and maintain health,\u00a0we also\u00a0know that the composition of\u00a0microbiomes is not uniform.\u00a0So,\u00a0on the one hand,\u00a0microbiomes\u00a0can\u00a0interact with our immune system and with our epithelial cells\u2014our\u00a0skin cells\u2014to\u00a0have a protective effect against other microorganisms;\u00a0but,\u00a0on the other hand,\u00a0microbiomes\u00a0can break\u00a0down and cause disease\u00a0or\u00a0inflammation.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Microbiomes can have a reputation of being bad but, in general,\u00a0microbiomes live\u00a0harmoniously within us.\u00a0However,\u00a0microbiomes can turn harmful\u00a0when something\u00a0like stress or drugs\u00a0changes the balance.\u00a0In fact,\u00a01,500 years ago the idea was\u00a0that we needed to\u00a0destroy all bacteria that surrounded us.\u00a0But now\u00a0we know that bacteria\u00a0diversity\u00a0is\u00a0essential to\u00a0promoting and\u00a0maintaining\u00a0health\u00a0and that a\u00a0lack of\u00a0diversity\u00a0can\u00a0influence\u00a0your body mass, metabolism, allergies and respiratory infections.\u00a0There is much yet to learn about\u2014and from\u2014our gut bacteria.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018We’re more bacterial than we are human: for each human cell in our body there are almost 1,000 bacterial cells in our gut!\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u00a0started\u00a0you\u00a0looking at the role of gut bacteria\u00a0with the \u2018Aussie\u00a0Gut\u2019\u00a0project?\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From\u00a02004\u00a0to\u00a02008 there was a lot of interest in probiotics and gut health and taking supplements to prevent respiratory illness\u00a0such as\u00a0common colds. Studying\u00a0my\u00a0PhD\u00a0at the\u00a0Australian\u00a0Institute of Sport,\u00a0Canberra,\u00a0enabled me\u00a0to\u00a0study\u00a0athletes,\u00a0who\u00a0are\u00a0an\u00a0excellent\u00a0group to\u00a0research\u00a0because they tend to follow\u00a0very structured routines. With athletes\u00a0you can dictate their\u00a0stress level, through exhaustion testing or racing, or,\u00a0if\u00a0they\u00a0are\u00a0doing set workloads,\u00a0you\u00a0can measure their\u00a0immune response\u00a0to determine\u00a0the effectiveness\u00a0of\u00a0training on their\u00a0immune system and health.\u00a0And as it is a\u00a0controlled\u00a0training environment, you can give them supplements.\u00a0As a result,\u00a0there is\u00a0a lot less bias or confounding external variables.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From studying athletes,\u00a0we\u00a0moved to the rest of the population\u00a0and\u00a0started looking at metabolic disease, eczema, allergies\u00a0and\u00a0cancer.\u00a0The interest this sparked resulted in\u00a0many\u00a0people contacting\u00a0us about our studies\u00a0and\u00a0asking\u00a0about\u00a0individual\u00a0microbiome profiles.\u00a0As this\u00a0didn’t fit into any of our studies, we\u00a0trademarked\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>\u2018Aussie Gut\u2019 project<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0For the cost of lab processing,\u00a0people\u00a0can\u00a0come\u00a0to\u00a0a Griffith health\u00a0clinic,\u00a0fill out some questionnaires\u00a0and provide a\u00a0faecal\u00a0sample. And whilst we don’t give recommendations about what people should and should\u00a0not\u00a0do,\u00a0the profiles can identify low\u00a0microbiome\u00a0diversity\u00a0and\u00a0a\u00a0potential\u00a0underlying issue of poor health.\u00a0Most often, the next step is for people to take their profile to a\u00a0dietician.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The \u2018Aussie Gut\u2019\u00a0initiative\u00a0also\u00a0allows people in the community\u00a0to\u00a0contribute to science.\u00a0With\u00a0several hundred\u00a0participants\u00a0in different groups, we\u00a0have\u00a0started\u00a0to\u00a0examine\u00a0the data\u00a0more\u00a0deeply and, as\u00a0an\u00a0immunology group,\u00a0to\u00a0delve\u00a0deeper into\u00a0the relationship between the microbiome and the immune system, particularly relating to allergies or asthma,\u00a0and dermatitis oncology.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A
Dr Nic West, Senior Lecturer and Infectious Diseases and Immunology Researcher.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Are microbiomes\u00a0unique\u00a0like fingerprints?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Well,\u00a0that is an interesting question as whilst no two\u00a0people\u00a0are identical,\u00a0with the exact same microbiome,\u00a0they\u00a0can be similar.\u00a0And this is one of the reasons that there isn\u2019t a huge amount of information about the use of the microbiome for definitive clinical health changes. At this stage,\u00a0no one\u00a0worldwide has made strong links between any\u00a0particular groups\u00a0of bacteria and an outcome for disease.\u00a0The exception may be\u00a0cancer oncology\u00a0where recently\u00a0it has\u00a0been\u00a0found that certain compositions will improve immunotherapy results.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018\u2026 whilst no two people are identical, with the exact same microbiome, they can be similar.\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Does the idea that\u00a0microbes can contribute to a sustainable future\u00a0resonate\u00a0with you?\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes. We know that the diversity and the composition of the microbiome\u00a0is\u00a0not stable and has\u00a0changed over generations.\u00a0There is\u00a0a\u00a0hypothesis\u00a0that modernity and our lifestyles\u00a0are\u00a0having a negative impact on our overall diversity.\u00a0What is fascinating is\u00a0that\u00a0they\u00a0have\u00a0found\u00a0that\u00a0groups in Kenya\u00a0living a tribal life\u00a0have\u00a0the greatest diversity.\u00a0So,\u00a0there is\u00a0a\u00a0relationship\u00a0between our\u00a0microbiomes and\u00a0our diseases, such as allergies and asthma\u2014diseases\u00a0which have increased\u00a0significantly\u00a0in the last 50 years.\u00a0But\u00a0instead of altering our lifestyle,\u00a0we\u00a0are\u00a0taking\u00a0all these supplements\u00a0to\u00a0try\u00a0to improve health.\u00a0And\u00a0to\u00a0what degree is\u00a0taking\u00a0supplements\u00a0sustainable?\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u00a0is the\u00a0impact of your research?\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The impact is in three areas\u2014diagnostics,\u00a0stratifying and\u00a0therapeutic targeting.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With\u00a0diagnostics\u00a0it is about the early\u00a0identification of\u00a0people who might be trending towards a pathway of disease.\u00a0Early\u00a0identification\u00a0on that microbial composition\u00a0level can mean early intervention. From diagnostics it is a\u00a0question of stratification:\u00a0can the trajectory of disease\u00a0be altered\u00a0by administering something like\u00a0a\u00a0probiotic to change the composition\u00a0of the\u00a0metabolite.\u00a0For instance,\u00a0at birth\u00a0babies\u00a0are given a vitamin K shot\u00a0as\u00a0the microbiome\u00a0takes several weeks to kick in so\u00a0hasn’t yet developed enough to produce vitamin K from food.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Having\u00a0moved from that diagnostic setting to stratifying people,\u00a0the next\u00a0area\u00a0is therapeutical targeting\u00a0to change an outcome.\u00a0Looking at whether\u00a0an individual\u2019s microbiomes\u00a0can\u00a0be altered to change the\u00a0disease\u00a0process,\u00a0to change\u00a0the interaction with the immune system.\u00a0With therapeutical targeting\u00a0we\u00a0can\u00a0partner with\u00a0companies\u00a0and apply our research to the development of a product\u00a0to target\u00a0particular areas\u00a0involving microbiomes.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Before you start, make sure you have basic data and bioinformatic skills \u2026 the data science side of the field is rapidly and continually changing.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What advice would you give researchers?\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Take the opportunity to train well in your candidature.\u00a0Due to technology,\u00a0the state of the field is moving so quickly that you really don’t get a\u00a0lot of time to train\u00a0afterwards.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before you start, make sure you have basic data\u00a0and bioinformatic skills.\u00a0Week by week there are new methods for\u00a0analysing\u00a0samples\u00a0and data;\u00a0the data science side of the field\u00a0is rapidly and continually\u00a0changing.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And,\u00a0ultimately,\u00a0ensure you have passion for your topic as you are\u00a0going to spend three years researching\u00a0it. If\u00a0at the start\u00a0you end up doing something you don’t enjoy\u00a0then\u00a0halfway\u00a0through\u00a0it\u00a0becomes a real grind.\u00a0I recommend potential researchers\u00a0talk to various\u00a0research\u00a0groups\u00a0to\u00a0figure out what\u00a0they are\u00a0interested in\u2014the rest will fall in line afterwards.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Where do you see\u00a0your research\u00a0going in the next 3\u00a0to\u00a05 years?\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our focus is\u00a0on\u00a0building the sample sets we\u00a0have in\u00a0the obesity metabolism, allergy\u00a0and\u00a0atopic\u00a0space\u00a0and\u00a0to\u00a0identify\u00a0some\u00a0well-designed\u00a0quality trials\u00a0for\u00a0the health supplement space. Really, it\u00a0is about trying to identify the mechanisms of disease\u00a0in the microbiome\u00a0that relate to the immune system and then\u00a0to\u00a0look\u00a0for\u00a0what\u00a0we\u00a0call druggable targets\u2014what can we target, either through a drug or supplement lifestyle,\u00a0that will make a difference to\u00a0a person\u2019s\u00a0long-term\u00a0health.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Interested in learning more?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more about microbiomes through Dr West\u2019s open access research on\u00a0<\/span>Griffith Research Online<\/span><\/a>:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n