The gut microbiota, environment and diseases of modern society

Abstract

The human gut microbiota is a complex community that provides important metabolic functions to the host. Consequently, alterations in the gut microbiota have been associated with the pathogenesis of several human diseases associated with a disturbance in metabolism, particularly those that have been increasing in incidence over the last several decades including obesity, diabetes and atherosclerosis. In this review, we explore how advances in deep DNA sequencing technology have provided us a greater understanding of the factors that influence that composition of the gut microbiota and its possible links to the pathogenesis of these diseases. © 2012 Landes Bioscience.