Intestinales Mikrobiom

The composition and functionality of the intestinal microbiota is currently in the focus of basic and applied biomedical sciences. The development of innovative deep sequencing methods and bioinformatic big data analyses enabled the description of individual intestinal ecosystems since about one decade ago. Comparative analyses subsequently showed that a surprisingly high number of pathologies, ranging from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) to multiple sclerosis, adiposity, diabetes and atherosclerosis, are associated with alterations in the intestinal microbiota. The causes and consequences of the respective alterations are largely unknown and currently intensively investigated in experimental and clinical studies. Various environmental and host factors modulate the composition and function of the intestinal microbiota. Of all these modulators, diet emerged as one key effector of the intestinal microbiota. Based on the fact, that specific intestinal microorganisms are able to impact on the metabolism, the intestinal barrier and the immune system of the host, the targeted modulation of the microbial ecosystem is a promising starting point in the prevention and therapy of many diseases.