ABSTRACT
The human microbiome consists of all the microbes present in the human body including their gene, genomes, and metabolites. These trillions of microbes in the human body serve as a dynamic organ that affects the various aspects of the human system including physiology, metabolism, immunity, and overall health and disease outcomes of an infection. The human microbiome can be further compartmentalized into each organ’s microbiome, e.g. gut microbiome, lung microbiome, skin microbiome, and oropharyngeal microbiome. Each of these organs has its characteristic microbial composition which remains in continuous interaction with the surrounding host tissues directly or indirectly through their microbial products. This organ-specific microbiota performs specific functions, e.g. it prevents the pathogenic species from colonizing and thus helps in maintaining a healthy state, and hence the alteration of this organ-specific composition may lead to a disease condition. In this chapter, we will try to understand the various aspects of healthy human microbiome structure and composition and its characteristics in the various organs. We will also try to understand how dysbiosis of the microbiome can cause a disease condition and the intervention strategies available to treat and/or modulate the disease outcomes in human subjects.
