Gut microorganisms

Gut microorganisms
http;//www.news-medical-net/news/20120111/Researchers-analyze-microorganismsin-
human-gut-as-a-complex-integrated-biological-system.aspx
A research team led by Elhanan Borenstein from the University
of Washington has studied the microorganisms of the gut as an
integrated system for the first time instead of separate species.
They applied computer modeling to study the microorganisms as
a single system. They discovered differences in the gut systems
of lean people compared to significantly overweight people and
those with inflammatory bowel disease. They found metabolic
interdependencies between enzymes that were located distantly
from the core network of the microorganism system. The researchers
were not sure if this meant the peripheral enzymes were metabolic
first steps relying on substances not produced by the microbiome
or end points releasing enzymes not used. The obese microbiome
system also had lower levels of a topological trait called "modularity."
The findings were published in the January 2012 Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences.
This research is interesting because the gut microbiome is responsible
for extracting energy from food, manufacturing vitamins and the
building blocks of proteins, and helping disease resistance. This
approach of studying the the microorganisms as a system can lead to
biomarkers for obesity and inflammatory bowel disease or ways to
treat these diseases. I found it interesting that the gene set of the
microorganisms in the gut is 150 times higher than a set of human genes.