Monmouth Microbiome Initiative

NMI

"Today (May 13, 2016), the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), in collaboration with Federal agencies and private-sector stakeholders, is announcing the National Microbiome Initiative (NMI). The NMI aims to advance understanding of microbiomes in order to aid in the development of useful applications in areas such as health care, food production, and environmental restoration."

Taken from https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2016/05/13/announcing-national-microbiome-initiative

Article of interest:

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/350/6260/507

http://cen.acs.org/articles/94/web/2016/05/White-House-announces-microbiome-initiative.html

Host-Bacterial Mutualism in the Human Intestine (2005, Highly cited)

The distal human intestine represents an anaerobic bioreactor programmed with an enormous population of bacteria, dominated by relatively few divisions that are highly diverse at the strain/subspecies level. This microbiota and its collective genomes (microbiome) provide us with genetic and metabolic attributes we have not been required to evolve on our own, including the ability to harvest otherwise inaccessible nutrients. New studies are revealing how the gut microbiota has coevolved with us and how it manipulates and complements our biology in ways that are mutually beneficial. We are also starting to understand how certain keystone members of the microbiota operate to maintain the stability and functional adaptability of this microbial organ.