McGuinness Amelia J, Stinson Lisa F, Snelson Matthew, Loughman Amy, Stringer Andrea, Hannan Anthony J, Cowan Caitlin S M, Jama Hamdi A, Caparros-Martin Jose A, West Madeline L, Wardill Hannah R
Deakin University, Geelong, Australia, the Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT), School of Medicine and Barwon Health, Geelong, Australia.
School of Molecular Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
Brain Behav Immun. 2024 Jan;115:120-130. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2023.09.022. Epub 2023 Oct 6.
Microbiome science has been one of the most exciting and rapidly evolving research fields in the past two decades. Breakthroughs in technologies including DNA sequencing have meant that the trillions of microbes (particularly bacteria) inhabiting human biological niches (particularly the gut) can be profiled and analysed in exquisite detail. This microbiome profiling has profound impacts across many fields of research, especially biomedical science, with implications for how we understand and ultimately treat a wide range of human disorders. However, like many great scientific frontiers in human history, the pioneering nature of microbiome research comes with a multitude of challenges and potential pitfalls. These include the reproducibility and robustness of microbiome science, especially in its applications to human health outcomes. In this article, we address the enormous promise of microbiome science and its many challenges, proposing constructive solutions to enhance the reproducibility and robustness of research in this nascent field. The optimisation of microbiome science spans research design, implementation and analysis, and we discuss specific aspects such as the importance of ecological principals and functionality, challenges with microbiome-modulating therapies and the consideration of confounding, alternative options for microbiome sequencing, and the potential of machine learning and computational science to advance the field. The power of microbiome science promises to revolutionise our understanding of many diseases and provide new approaches to prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment.
在过去二十年中，微生物组科学一直是最令人兴奋且发展迅速的研究领域之一。包括DNA测序在内的技术突破意味着，栖息在人类生物微环境（尤其是肠道）中的数万亿微生物（特别是细菌）能够得到极其详细的剖析和分析。这种微生物组分析在许多研究领域，尤其是生物医学科学领域，产生了深远影响，对我们理解以及最终治疗多种人类疾病具有重要意义。然而，与人类历史上许多伟大的科学前沿领域一样，微生物组研究的开创性也伴随着诸多挑战和潜在陷阱。其中包括微生物组科学的可重复性和稳健性，尤其是在其应用于人类健康结果方面。在本文中，我们阐述了微生物组科学的巨大前景及其面临的诸多挑战，并提出建设性解决方案，以提高这一新兴领域研究的可重复性和稳健性。微生物组科学的优化涵盖研究设计、实施和分析，我们将讨论具体方面，如生态学原理和功能的重要性、微生物组调节疗法面临的挑战、混杂因素的考量、微生物组测序的替代方案，以及机器学习和计算科学推动该领域发展的潜力。微生物组科学的力量有望彻底改变我们对许多疾病的理解，并为预防、早期诊断和治疗提供新方法。
