Current Knowledge About the Implication of Bacterial Microbiota in Human Health and Disease

Abstract

Recent advances in molecular genetics and the invention of new technologies led to a development in our knowledge about human microbiota, specifically bacterial one. The microbiota plays a fundamental role in the immunologic, hormonal and metabolic homeostasis of the host. After the initiation of the Human Microbiome Project, it became clear that the human microbiota consists of the 10-100 trillion symbiotic microbial cells harbored by each person, primarily bacteria in the gut, but also in other spots as the skin, mouth, nose, and vagina. Despite of the differences in studying bacterial species, decreased bacterial diversity and persistence has been connected with several diverse human diseases primarily diabetes, IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) and others; attempts were made even to explain psychiatric pathology. Several species emerged as dominant and were clearly linked to certain disorders or accepted as biomarkers of others. The current review aims to discuss key issues of our current knowledge about bacteria in human, the difficulties and methods of its analysis, its contribution to human health and responsibility for human diseases.

Keywords

• microbiome
• microbiota
• bacteria
• human diseases