Population-specific differences in the human microbiome: Factors defining the diversity.

Govender, Priyanka; Ghai, Meenu

ABSTRACT

Differences in microbial communities at different body habitats define the microbiome composition of the human body. The gut, oral, skin vaginal fluid and tissue microbiome, are pivotal for human development and immune response and cross talk between these microbiomes is evident. Population studies reveal that various factors, such as host genetics, diet, lifestyle, aging, and geographical location are strongly associated with population-specific microbiome differences. The present review discusses the factors that shape microbiome diversity in humans, and microbiome differences in African, Asian and Caucasian populations. Gut microbiome studies show that microbial species Bacteroides is commonly found in individuals living in Western countries (Caucasian populations), while Prevotella is prevalent in non-Western countries (African and Asian populations). This association is mainly due to the high carbohydrate, high fat diet in western countries in contrast to high fibre, low fat diets in African/ Asian regions. Majority of the microbiome studies focus on the bacteriome component; however, interesting findings reveal that increased bacteriophage richness, which makes up the virome component, correlates with decreased bacterial diversity, and causes microbiome dysbiosis. An increase of Caudovirales (bacteriophages) is associated with a decrease in enteric bacteria in inflammatory bowel diseases. Future microbiome studies should evaluate the interrelation between bacteriome and virome to fully understand their significance in the pathogenesis and progression of human diseases. With ethnic health disparities becoming increasingly apparent, studies need to emphasize on the association of population-specific microbiome differences and human diseases, to develop microbiome-based therapeutics. Additionally, targeted phage therapy is emerging as an attractive alternative to antibiotics for bacterial infections. With rapid rise in microbiome research, focus should be on standardizing protocols, advanced bioinformatics tools, and reducing sequencing platform related biases. Ultimately, integration of multi-omics data (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics) will lead to precision models for personalized microbiome therapeutics advancement.