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Human and microbe: united we stand

Nature Medicine volume 12, pages 736–737 (2006)Cite this article

A metagenomic analysis of the microbes in the human gut reveals their diversity and just how interdependent we are on them. Together with our microbes we are a human-bacterial superorganism with immense metabolic diversity and capacity.

Only about ten percent of the cells in our bodies are truly human: the vast majority are microbial. Almost all of these bacteria are unculturable1 but molecular methods can give us a good glimpse of this diverse community.

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Figure 1: Intestinal homeostasis: a human-microbe balancing act.

Kim Caesar

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, British Columbia, Canada

    Inna Sekirov & B Brett Finlay

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  1. Inna Sekirov
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  2. B Brett Finlay
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Sekirov, I., Finlay, B. Human and microbe: united we stand. Nat Med 12, 736–737 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0706-736

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