Final answer:
The microbiome refers to all microorganisms and their genetic material associated with a certain organism or environment. It includes both resident and transient microorganisms which can be influenced by factors such as diet, age, lifestyle, and more. Metagenomic analysis is used to study the genetic material of all microbes in the microbiome.
Step-by-step explanation:
Scientists have coined the term microbiome to refer to all prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms and their genetic material that are associated with a certain organism or environment. Within the human microbiome, there are resident microbiota and transient microbiota. The resident microbiota consists of microorganisms that constantly live in or on our bodies. The term transient microbiota refers to microorganisms that are only temporarily found in the human body, and these may include pathogenic microorganisms. Hygiene and diet can alter both the resident and transient microbiota.
Generally, the microbiome within a given body habitat can be defined as the diversity and abundance distribution of distinct types of microorganisms. This microbial composition is highly influenced by individual factors such as diet, age, lifestyle, ethnicity, and host health, among others. Although no taxa are observed to be universally present among all individuals, some microbial patterns demonstrate broad prevalence. Most bacteria belong to the genera Bacteroides, Clostridium, Fusobacterium, Eubacterium, Ruminococcus, Peptococcus, Pepto streptococcus, and Bifidobacterium.
One of the challenges in understanding the human microbiome has been the difficulty of culturing many of the microbes that inhabit the human body. It has been estimated that we are only able to culture 1% of the bacteria in nature and that we are unable to grow the remaining 99%. To address this challenge, researchers have used metagenomic analysis, which studies genetic material harvested directly from microbial communities, as opposed to that of individual species grown in a culture. This allows researchers to study the genetic material of all microbes in the microbiome, rather than just those that can be cultured.