The collective genomes of all microorganisms (bacteria, archaea, fungi, viruses) inhabiting a defined environment — most commonly the human gastrointestinal tract. Distinguished from "microbiota" (the organisms themselves) by referring to the genetic content.
Key Aspects in This Wiki
- Gut microbiome composition is shaped by diet, metals, antibiotics, and host genetics.
- Metal exposure (iron, zinc, nickel, cadmium, lead, arsenic, mercury) restructures the microbiome in ways that promote dysbiosis and disease.
- The gut metal microbiome axis is the central organizing concept of this wiki.
- Microbiome disruption contributes to virtually every disease entity catalogued here, from colorectal cancer to parkinsons disease to multiple sclerosis.
See Also
- dysbiosis — the pathological state of microbiome imbalance
- gut metal microbiome — the metal-microbiome interaction framework
- short chain fatty acids — key functional output of a healthy microbiome
- probiotics — interventions to restore microbiome balance
- gut brain axis — microbiome-brain communication pathway