Chapter 2 - A Review of the Oesophageal Microbiome in Health and Disease

Publication date: 2017Source: Methods in Microbiology, Volume 44Author(s): Dervla Kelly, Liying Yang, Zhiheng PeiAbstractMicrobial members of the gastrointestinal tract, known as the GTI microbiome, are beneficial for host metabolism and digestion, thereby creating a symbiotic relationship with their host (Petersen & Round, 2014). The microbiome has recently emerged as contributing to many intestinal disease states such as gastrointestinal reflux disease, Barrett's oesophagus and oesophageal cancers. Given that the local bacterial population influences individuals’ disease susceptibility, the microbiome of the gastrointestinal tract has been studied intensively over the last decade.Gastrointestinal microbiology has traditionally focused on culturing colonies for the detection of pathogens and diagnosis of gastroenteritis and colitis. Over the past decade, the bacterial population of the oesophagus has been successfully characterized using culture-independent techniques. The primary focus of researchers is now to investigate the functions of the microbiome and how it influences the host.In this review, we discuss the major findings in relation to the oesophageal microbiome, which include: (1) the composition of oesophageal microbiome; (2) the function of the oesophageal microbiome; and (3) the association between the oesophageal microbiome and disease. The review also presents the opportunities for investigators to apply emerging technologies to the oesophageal microbiome.

Source: Methods in Microbiology - July 11, 2018 Category: Microbiology Source Type: research