Microbiome Science - Ruth E. Ley
The Department of Microbiome Science is broadly interested in the ecology and evolution of the human gut microbiota. We perform population-level research to probe links between human genotype and the gut microbiota, and we focus mechanistically on ways in which specific gut microbes have adapted to the human body.
In the Department of Microbiome Science, we ask fundamental questions about the evolutionary origins of the human gut microbiome and how it influences host physiology and evolution. We have the following main areas of research: (1) evolution of the human gut microbiome and interplay with host genetics, (2) lipids in host-microbiome symbiosis, (3) microbiota-innate immune interactions, (4) development of genetic systems for currently intractable microbes.
Research Topics
Our research program aims to elucidate how gut microbial species relate to genotypic differences between human individuals, to identify bacterial and archaeal species that share an evolutionary history with humans, and to determine the molecular basis of long-term host-microbial relationships. We approach these aims with a combination of population-level observations and molecular-level investigations in the laboratory. We link inter-microbial and microbial-host interactions at the molecular scale to patterns at population and evolutionary scales.
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Departmental Group Leader: James Marsh
The community of microorganisms within the human gastrointestinal tract is one of the most diverse ecosystems known, yet we currently have limited tools to unravel its intrinsic complexity.
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Departmental Group Leader: Alexander Tyakht
While the taxonomic structure of gut microbiome in the world human populations has been outlined, its subspecies-level genomic richness in the context of co-evolution with the host, particularly the variability of its extrachromosomal content, is still to be elucidated. Using the state-of-art bionformatic pipelines and algorithms, the diversity of mobile genetic elements (plasmids, phages) will be analyzed.
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Project Leader: Stacey Heaver
Lipids are more than just structural components of membranes or energy storage in adipocytes – they form a diverse array of molecular structures that also serve bioactive roles in all kingdoms of life. Our guts are filled with microbes that synthesize their own lipids and modify lipids from their host or diet. These gut microbe-derived lipids can interact both with other bacteria and their human host, altering host metabolism, signaling, and immunity.
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Project Leader: Hagay Enav
Infants are born germ-free and ready for microbial colonization. The first consortium of microbial colonizers can shape the growth, development, and health of the host during infancy and well into later life. As newborns mature, their diet, immune system and microbiome composition change rapidly, creating shifting selective pressures on members of the gut microbial community.
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