Also: Human Microbiome Project, gut bacteria, microbiota, gut-brain axis, germ-free mice
Trillions of microbes live in and on the human body. The Human Microbiome Project mapped healthy communities, and animal studies link gut microbes to brain and stress responses.
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Cryan and colleagues reviewed evidence that gut microbes communicate with the brain via the immune system, tryptophan metabolism, the vagus nerve and the enteric nervous system.
As reported in: Cryan, O'Riordan, Cowan et al. (2019). The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis. Physiological Reviews. doi:10.1152/physrev.00018.2018
The Human Microbiome Project Consortium found the microbes of each body habitat vary widely even among healthy people, while the metabolic pathways they carry stay stable.
As reported in: (2012). Structure, function and diversity of the healthy human microbiome. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature11234
Sudo and colleagues found germ-free mice had an exaggerated stress hormone response compared with mice with normal microbes, which was reversed by giving them Bifidobacterium infantis; normal gut microbes only partly corrected it when given early in life, not later.
As reported in: Sudo, Chida, Aiba et al. (2004). Postnatal microbial colonization programs the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal system for stress response in mice. The Journal of Physiology. doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2004.063388
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