The various species of bacteria inhabiting the human gut have a total of over 3,3 million genes, while our own genome has only 23 of them. Nature informs.
It is estimated that the human body contains 10 times more bacterial cells than human cells – most of which live in a warm and cozy intestine. Such a mass of microorganisms cannot be ignored
The research efforts undertaken by an international team of scientists have already yielded the first results – it has been shown that the digestive system of the average person is inhabited by about 170 species of bacteria. Moreover, intestinal inflammation is associated with the absence of certain species.
124 adults were examined and found that at least 57 species of bacteria are present in everyone, and the total number found in our digestive tract is over 1000.
Chinese co-author Jun Wang explains that cataloging the genes of our bacteria will help in mapping human genes.
The German researcher Jeroen Raes describes humans as walking bacterial colonies. Our health and well-being depend on these bacteria – they produce amino acids and vitamins, break down complex sugars, and convert unnecessary chemicals into digestible ones. It is possible that the presence of some bacteria is associated with obesity or diabetes – it is also known that the composition of the bacterial flora can change under stress (PAP).