A framework for human microbiome research.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional descriptive survey and metagenomic resource characterization in healthy humans.
PubMed 22699610 · doi:10.1038/nature11209
What was done
The Human Microbiome Project Consortium established standardized metagenomic protocols and sampled a cohort of 242 healthy adults at 15 or 18 body sites up to three times. The researchers generated 16S ribosomal RNA gene taxonomic profiles, whole-metagenome shotgun sequencing, and sequenced isolated reference strains.
What was found
The initiative generated 5,177 microbial taxonomic profiles from 16S rRNA genes, over 3.5 terabases of metagenomic sequence data, and sequenced approximately 800 reference strains isolated from the human body.
Why it matters
This project provides a foundational baseline dataset and standardized analytical framework for characterizing the diversity and composition of the healthy human microbiome across multiple body habitats.
Limits
The study is purely descriptive and restricted to healthy adults, without disease comparators or longitudinal clinical outcomes reported in the abstract. Specific demographic characteristics and environmental factors are not detailed in the abstract.
Cited by
- supports The Human Microbiome Project launched in 2007 to map the microbial communities across various human body sites including the mouth, gut, and skin.