On February 5th, the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) published the research results of human metagenome and health jointly completed by five Chinese and British institutions, which caused great international repercussions and was reported by many media in united press international and China. Human metagenome is actually another term for human microbiome. In recent years, the research in this field has gradually warmed up, including the brewing of the human metagenome project and the publication of important research papers in metagenomics, which has prompted more researchers to pay attention to it. A few days ago, the reporter interviewed Professor Zhao Liping from the Institute of Systems Biomedicine of Shanghai Jiaotong University, who participated in the preparatory work of the International Union for Human Microbiology Research (IHMC).

▲ Important "little guy"

"There are more than 1000 kinds of microorganisms born in human body, and their genes are called' microbiome' and' human metagenome'." Professor Zhao Liping told reporters as a few treasures: "People always think that an organism, whether it is a single-celled bacterium or a higher organism like human beings, is controlled by genetic information." However, more and more studies show that the physiological metabolism, growth and development of human body are not only controlled by its own genes, but also the genetic information of a large number of microorganisms born in human body plays an important role. The number of genes they encode is 50 ~ 100 times that of human body, which is equivalent to the "second genome" of human body.

It is these "little people" born in the human body and invisible to the naked eye that play a vital role in human immunity, nutrition and metabolism. On the one hand, when the health status of human body changes, the composition of living microorganisms in the body will also change; On the contrary, changes in microbial composition in the body will also lead to changes in human health. Therefore, the composition of biological microorganisms in human body can truly and accurately reflect the health status of human body.

In view of the importance of human metagenome to human health, the scientific community has actively carried out related research. For example, researchers from the European Union, the United States and Japan have successively launched human metagenome research projects. Professor Zhao Liping specifically mentioned that scientists from Britain, the United States, France and China established the International Consortium on Human Microbiology (IHMC) in the United States from February 9 to 10 last year, and planned to jointly launch the Human Metagenome Project in April this year to start a comprehensive study on human metagenome. This project, called "The Second Human Genome Project", will sequence and analyze the functions of all microbial communities in human body, and its sequencing workload is at least equivalent to 10 human genome project, and it is possible to find more than10 million new genes, and finally make breakthroughs in new drug research and development, drug toxicity control and individualized drug use.

▲ Pay attention to chronic systemic metabolic diseases

From June, 5438 to February last year, the American magazine Science predicted that the study of human living microorganisms would probably be one of the seven important fields of international scientific research in 2008. Professor Zhao Liping said that the current research on human metagenome found that the change and imbalance of intestinal flora structure not only led to intestinal diseases, but also closely related to many chronic systemic metabolic diseases, such as diabetes, obesity and even cancer.

Some intestinal diseases in the past, that is, non-infectious intestinal diseases (such as irritable bowel syndrome, etc. ), the exact pathogen can not be found, and it is now considered to be closely related to the structural imbalance of intestinal microbial community. Therefore, in the treatment, we can choose some microecological agents to improve the imbalance of intestinal flora.

Diabetes was initially considered as abnormal glucose metabolism, but now it is found that flora imbalance may be the influencing factor of diabetes. The research team led by Professor Zhao Liping found that the number of certain bacteria in the intestines of diabetic model animals changed-the number of two kinds of lactic acid bacteria decreased significantly. It has also been reported abroad that supplementing lactic acid bacteria preparation can alleviate the symptoms of diabetes in model animals. This "one minus one plus" fact indicates that some kinds of lactic acid bacteria in the intestine may be involved in the occurrence and development of diabetes. The change of flora is not only the consequence of diabetes, but also the inducement of diabetes.

Although obesity is influenced by some genetic factors, environmental factors also play an important role. Professor Zhao Liping emphasized that the flora is one of them, that is, the abnormal flora structure caused by the change of diet structure can lead to obesity. American scholar Gordon and his colleagues have made a breakthrough in a series of studies on the relationship between obesity and flora in recent years. They found that there is a significant difference in the composition of intestinal flora between genetically obese mice and lean mice, and the obese phenotype can be transferred between different individuals with the flora. Their research on the human body has also achieved similar results. The more exciting discovery is that intestinal flora can directly regulate the gene expression activity of host fat storage tissue, so that the host can increase fat accumulation. These studies strongly support the position of intestinal flora in the physiological metabolism of "superorganism" like human beings. This proves from another angle that obesity is the result of the interaction between human genes and microbial genes, and even to some extent, the latter may play a greater role.

▲ "China Dance" should be able to lead the way.

Although all countries in the world have increased their research on human metagenome, China scholars are not to be outdone. At present, around the relationship between intestinal flora and infectious diseases, the national "973" project led by the First Hospital of Zhejiang University has been launched. With the support of the Ministry of Science and Technology and Shanghai, the Sino-French international cooperation project on intestinal metagenomics, undertaken by the Institute of Systems Biomedicine of Shanghai Jiaotong University, Institute of Nutrition of Chinese Academy of Sciences and South Center of National Human Genome, has also been successfully launched. With the strong cooperation of Shanghai CDC, Zhabei CDC and Luwan CDC, the field physical examination and blood, urine and feces sample collection of "Case-control Study on Nutrition, Flora and Obesity" of more than 1000 Shanghai residents were completed, which is the largest human metagenome population research project in the world and has attracted the attention of international counterparts.

But overall, the research on human metagenome in China is still in its infancy. How to make full use of China's unique advantages to participate in international competition and accelerate the pace of human metagenome research is a problem that needs our serious consideration. In the interview, Professor Zhao Liping repeatedly stressed that China has many advantages at present, and if it is properly organized, it should be able to dance a beautiful "China Dance" on the international stage of human metagenome research.

The relationship between microorganism and human beings

-name. Unit.

abstract:

Microbes that are too small to be seen by the naked eye play an unimaginable role in human beings. Sometimes it harms human beings and brings us disaster. But in some ways, it is also a good friend of our human beings, helping us solve problems and disasters.

Key words: microorganism, application, harm, human.

The relationship between microorganism and human beings

-Zhang Jingjing (20044274) Class 3 of Biological Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Heilongjiang University.

abstract:

I have an unimaginable great effect on microorganisms that are too small for human eyes to see. Sometimes it will endanger mankind and bring us disaster. But in some ways, it is also a good friend of our human beings, helping us solve problems and disasters.

Key words: microorganism, application, harm, human.

What is a microorganism? Microbes are tiny organisms that are invisible or unclear to the naked eye. They are small in size and simple in structure. It is closely related to mankind, which can not only benefit mankind, but also bring devastating disasters to mankind.

Microbiology plays an important role in solving major contemporary social problems. For example, it plays an unimaginable role in microbial oil recovery technology. It can reduce the viscosity of crude oil and increase the fluidity of crude oil, thus greatly improving the oil recovery. This technology has the advantages of low cost, simple equipment, no damage to stratum, no pollution to environment and remarkable benefits. 1995 to 2000, snooker petroleum technology company implemented this technology and achieved good benefits [1]. Japan, on the other hand, is a living bacterial preparation composed of more than 80 kinds of microorganisms with different functions, such as photosynthetic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, yeast, fermentative filamentous bacteria and actinomycetes. These microorganisms combine into a whole and promote each other. Together, they form a complex and stable microecosystem with multiple functions, which can inhibit the activities of harmful microorganisms, especially pathogenic bacteria and spoilage bacteria, and promote plant growth. This technology is widely used in natural agriculture. With the development of national economy, the application of microorganisms is more and more extensive. Microbes play an important role in biopharmaceuticals, energy, environmental protection, food and industry.

However, while microorganisms provide many benefits for human beings, they also bring many negative effects that cannot be ignored. The cosmetics we use contain a variety of nutrients, which provide a suitable environment for the growth of microorganisms and are easily contaminated by microorganisms during production, storage and use. The common bacteria in cosmetics are mainly Bacillus, Pseudomonas and Staphylococcus, which are widely distributed in nature, have strong resistance to the environment and have many pollution opportunities [2]. Fungi are mainly Trichoderma, Aspergillus, Rhizopus, Neurospora, Aureobasidium, Candida and Rhodotorula, and they are also common molds and yeasts in the natural environment [3]. Cosmetics contaminated by microorganisms not only deteriorate, but also are harmful to human health. The pollution of drinking fountains has also become a health problem that cannot be ignored. The quality of some drinking water is far from the hygienic quality of qualified drinking water. The so-called pure water and mineral water cannot be directly drunk, and are mainly polluted by microorganisms such as Escherichia coli. This situation is likely to aggravate the prevalence of intestinal diseases in summer and autumn. The researchers also pointed out that there is microbial pollution in indoor air, which can cause eye irritation, asthma, allergic dermatitis, allergic pneumonia and infectious diseases, and even death due to infection. Indoor building materials and household appliances are the main sources of indoor air pollution, which not only release chemicals harmful to human body, but also provide favorable conditions for the growth of microorganisms.

It can be seen that the relationship between microorganisms and human beings is very close, which benefits and harms human beings. Therefore, we should correctly understand microorganisms and use them to protect the environment and benefit mankind. This is our expectation and the unshirkable responsibility of each of us.

References:

[1] Xie Mingjie, Zou Cuixia, Cao. Study on microbial degradation of crude oil to improve oil recovery [J]. Journal of Fushun Petroleum Institute, 1999, (2).

Dong Xiuzhu, Cai Miaoying. Handbook of systematic identification of common bacteria [M]. Beijing: Science Press.

Society, 200 1.

Wei Jingchao. Handbook of fungal identification [M]. Beijing: Science Press, 1979.

(Date of receipt: August 2003-12)

[4] Jin Jingde. Society for Effective Microbiology Research, EM Flexible Technology Case Collection, EM Institute, 2004.

The relationship between human beings and the sustainable development of microorganisms

1, decomposers in soil-fungi, microorganisms and soil animals decompose dead animals and plants, remove organic garbage and create a clean environment for human beings;

Microbes provide us with too many uses, such as clothes, food, shelter, transportation, medicine, aesthetics and scientific progress.

3. Microorganisms can form a complete food web, which is also the food of other animals. Through the relationship between predation and prey, animals, plants and microorganisms are linked to form a complex relationship network.

4. Modern human beings have evolved under the ever-changing natural pressure shared by human beings, various microorganisms and other biological species. This co-evolution process is influenced by many aspects, such as the change of environment, human migration, the change of human behavior, the increase or decrease of other species, and the constant change of microbial fate.

5. Keeping the delicate balance between human body and pathogenic microorganisms to the maximum extent can strengthen ecological security. Modern humans and various microorganisms have co-evolved with the progress of time, and this relationship can be described as "peace". This "peace" comes from the understanding of immunity developed from human experience of pathogenic microorganisms.