Bacteria that want to do us good
With 10 to 100 bacterial cells for each human cell, according to the lowest estimate a human being is made up of 90% bacteria. And their diversity is such that, thanks to them, we possess approximately one hundred times more genes than the 20,000 genes of our genome. This bacterial community, or microbiota, appears to work very closely in maintaining the equilibrium of our bodies, hence the international race that has been under way in recent years to elucidate its role. A race, yes, but not very organised or methodical! This was therefore the aim of the new European IHMS (International Human Microbiome Standards) project. The challenge is considerable: to permit the comparison of data arising from different research studies, now and in the future, through the introduction of international standards. One key reason is that although major projects have already been engaged in Europe, the USA, China and Canada, none of them, however ambitious, can claim to have achieved an exhaustive characterisation of the microbiota and its role in health.
"Omic" approaches to generate a considerable mass of data
Today, metagenomics enables study of the genomics of bacterial communities through the mass sequencing of purified DNA. These studies have generated a complex series of sequences, but very few organisms have been wholly sequenced. Study of these series of sequences, combined with the sequences of complete genomes, raises numerous problems, not only of an informatics nature but also of a methodological and mathematical type.
A project to harmonise global practices and facilitate data comparisons
The European IHMS project aims to coordinate the development of standardised protocols and operational procedures in order to optimise the comparison of data in the field of the human microbiome and thus improve synergies between different projects. The IHMS is thus targeting three key aspects of data generation:
- The collection of human samples, their processing and identification
- The quality of the DNA sequences generated
- The analysis of DNA sequences.
The project aims to organise public access to standardised protocols and operational procedures and enable exchanges between the users and suppliers of standards.
Partners* who are international leaders in the field of the human microbiome
The IHMS project brings together eight international partners who are involved in the most ambitious projects currently under way on three continents: Europe, Asia and America. This project interfaces with other projects in Africa, Australia and Asia through privileged exchanges with the IHMC – International Human Microbiome Consortium – an international initiative born in 2008 in Heidelberg, Germany, which seeks to coordinate the major programmes exploring the human microbiota and undertaken by different institutions.
*Partners involved in the IHMS project:
INRA; HUVH (Institut Catala de la Salut – Spain); BCM (Baylor College of Medicine, USA); SJTU (Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China); CEA – Genoscope (Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission, France); BGI Shenzhen (Beijing Genomics Institute, Shenzhen, China); EMBL (European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Germany); Western (The University of Western Ontario, Canada).
Contacts :
S. Dusko Ehrlich (coordinateur) - dusko.ehrlich@jouy.inra.fr
Tel.: +33(0)1 34 65 25 10
Joel Doré - Joel.Dore@jouy.inra.fr
Tel.: +33(0)1 34 65 27 09
UMR1319 MICALIS -
MICrobiologie de l'ALImentation au Service de la Santé Humaine
INRA
Domaine de Vilvert
78352 JOUY-EN-JOSAS CEDEX
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See also
