Eckburg Paul B, Bik Elisabeth M, Bernstein Charles N, Purdom Elizabeth, Dethlefsen Les, Sargent Michael, Gill Steven R, Nelson Karen E, Relman David A
Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Room S-169, 300 Pasteur Drive, Stanford CA 94305-5107, USA.
Science. 2005 Jun 10;308(5728):1635-8. doi: 10.1126/science.1110591. Epub 2005 Apr 14.
The human endogenous intestinal microflora is an essential "organ" in providing nourishment, regulating epithelial development, and instructing innate immunity; yet, surprisingly, basic features remain poorly described. We examined 13,355 prokaryotic ribosomal RNA gene sequences from multiple colonic mucosal sites and feces of healthy subjects to improve our understanding of gut microbial diversity. A majority of the bacterial sequences corresponded to uncultivated species and novel microorganisms. We discovered significant intersubject variability and differences between stool and mucosa community composition. Characterization of this immensely diverse ecosystem is the first step in elucidating its role in health and disease.
人类内源性肠道微生物群是提供营养、调节上皮发育和指导先天免疫的重要“器官”；然而，令人惊讶的是，其基本特征仍描述甚少。我们检测了来自健康受试者多个结肠黏膜部位和粪便的13355个原核核糖体RNA基因序列，以增进我们对肠道微生物多样性的了解。大多数细菌序列对应于未培养的物种和新型微生物。我们发现不同个体之间存在显著差异，且粪便和黏膜群落组成也有所不同。对这个极其多样的生态系统进行表征是阐明其在健康和疾病中作用的第一步。
