Analysis of key metabolic microbes in human gut and their associations with human diseases and health

It is known that the number of microorganisms living in the human microbiome, especially the human gut, is surprisingly greater than the number of human cells. Microorganisms change food ingredients, drugs, and substances secreted in the intestines, affecting their bioavailability, toxicity, efficacy, and physiological control. These metabolites have various effects on the health and diseases of human. In our laboratory, we are conducting researches to identify key metabolic microbes that affect human health and diseases through bioinformatic analyses such as sequence similarity network (SSN) and genome neighborhood network (GNN) using metagenome or metatranscriptome data of human gut microbiome, and researches to identify their metabolic characteristics in the human gut. The discovered metabolic key microbes which are difficult to grow are cultivated through various methods such as reverse genomics and FACS cell sorting, and their effects on human health and diseases are being studied through animal experiments.