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Elucidating the transmission landscape of the human microbiome

Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology volume 20, pages 415–416 (2023)Cite this article

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In a study published in Nature, new data have highlighted the bacterial strain-level sharing rates of mother–offspring pairs, twins, families, cohabiting individuals and individuals within a population, as well as those between different populations, providing a comprehensive view of the transmission landscape of the intestinal and oral microbiome in humans. These findings highlight the need to reassess diseases currently considered to be non-communicable and underscore the importance of considering social structure and transmissibility in the design of microbial studies.

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Fig. 1: Transmission patterns of the human microbiome.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chair of Nutrition and Immunology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany

    Amira Metwaly & Dirk Haller

  2. ZIEL Institute for Food & Health, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany

    Dirk Haller

Authors
  1. Amira Metwaly
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  2. Dirk Haller
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Correspondence to Dirk Haller.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Metwaly, A., Haller, D. Elucidating the transmission landscape of the human microbiome. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 20, 415–416 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-023-00780-5

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