Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

The human body as microbial observatory

Nature Genetics volume 30, pages 131–133 (2002)Cite this article

The human body is grossly contaminated with microbes and, for the most part, this is beneficial. Consequently, the finding of microbial and viral transcripts within human EST databases should not come as a big surprise. However, the extent of human-associated microbial diversity and the possible role of infectious agents in common human diseases remains relatively unknown. An increasingly detailed understanding of the human genome will allow us to distinguish between endogenous human transcripts and those expressed by microbial residents.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Kroes, I., Lepp, P.W. & Relman, D.A. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. U S A 96, 14547–14552 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Paster, B.J. et al. J. Bacteriol. 183, 3770–3783 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Fredricks, D.N. & Relman, D.A. Curr. Clin. Top. Infect. Dis. 18, 180–200 (1998).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Weber, G., Shendure, J., Tanenbaum, D.M., Church, G.M. & Meyerson, M. Nature Genet. 30, 141–142 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Sutton, C.L. et al. Gastroenterology 119, 23–31 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Relman, D.A. Science 284, 1308–1310 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Fredricks, D.N. & Relman, D.A. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 9, 18–33 (1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Lander, E.S. et al. Nature 409, 860–921 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Griffiths, D.J. Genome Biol. 2, 1017 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Johnston, J.B. et al. Ann Neurol 50, 434–442 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Salzberg, S.L., White, O., Peterson, J. & Eisen, J.A. Science 292, 1903–1906 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Nikkari, S., McLaughlin, I.J., Bi, W., Dodge, D.E. & Relman, D.A. J. Clin. Microbiol. 39, 1956–1959 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Relman, D.A. & Falkow, S. Trends Microbiol. 9, 206–208 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Microbiology & Immunology, and Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA

    David A. Relman

Authors
  1. David A. Relman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Relman, D. The human body as microbial observatory. Nat Genet 30, 131–133 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng0202-131

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ng0202-131

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing