The Other Genome

With the advent of molecular biology and such techniques as RNA gene sequencing, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, metagenomic analysis of the infant gut microbiome, and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) analysis have provided an “ecological perspective” in a new frontier of human biology. This frontier is the human gut microbiome. We are now in a position to explore how changes in its composition may result in, or predict disease.

The distal gastrointestinal tract has recently been recognized …