Metagenomic Study of Human Gastrointestinal Tracts in Health and Diseases

Abstract

Metagenomics is a new emerged technology used to investigate the microbial diversity in an environment and to study their function in a given environment. The Human Microbiome Project is a global project to research diversity of microbial communities associated with human body and to investigate their effects on physiology of organs. These studies also are interested to link between the existence of a microbial population and several inflammatory, physiological, metabolic and psychological disorders. Based on metagenomic studies, this paper aims to review the newest information regarding microbial diversity of the intestinal tracts and their physiologic and/or pathologic influences on human body.