Microbiome studies have grown in sophistication over the past 20 years. It is now 2020. When we discuss the microbiome in health and disease in a book, our expectation on the topic is much higher than what we had years ago.
We now know that microbiome is not just bacteria; we now know that the role of microbiome is not just in intestine; and we now know that 16S rRNA sequencing is not sufficient to identify all the microbes. We have uncovered important mechanistic links between the microbiome and aspects of host health. We start to explore microbiome for the potential applications and therapeutic strategies in human diseases.
I started to work on the proposal of this Elsevier book invited by Dr. David Teplow in December 2018. I believe it is a timely topic to be included in the series Progress in Molecular Biology and Translational Science. I planned to bring in experts from various aspects of microbiome research filed to discuss: not just bacteria in microbiome, but also virome and fungus, not only intestinal microbiome, but also microbiome in other organs, and not just digestive diseases, but also gut-brain axis and other diseases, not just adult hood, but also infant microbiome and their development, not just mechanisms in diseases, but also analysis tools to help us work on the mechanisms in microbiome studies. In the final version, we are able to cover the research progress as follows:
Dr. Petrof and her team have reviewed the infant microbiome and implications for the development of central nervous system. Dr. Yuan et al. discuss microbiota in viral infection and disease in humans and farm animals. Dr. Jeong's chapter is about gut microbiota and drug metabolism. You will find the comprehensive review of relationship between T cells and microbiota from an immunologist Dr. Sano. Drs. Kato and Sun lead the topic on oral and intestinal bacterial exotoxins in carcinogenesis. Further, Dr. Yang reviews the fungi and bacteria interactions in mucosal microbiome in gastric lesions. An interesting piece from Dr. Hamilton-Williams focused on microbiota derived factors in type 1 diabetes. We will learn the current progress in nutrition and microbiota by Dr. Dahl and probiotics and prebiotics interacting with the microbiota by Dr. Saad's team. “Microbiome and cancer treatment: are we ready to apply in clinics?” Around this question, Dr. Chan's chapter is built around this interesting and practical perspective. Last, but not least, we need suitable bioinformatic and biostatistical tools to analyze microbiome data and identify critical factors. Dr. Xia discusses the current and future correlation and association analysis in microbiome study and how to integrate microbiome data with other multiomics.
You may notice that the microbiome research is getting global. I am so glad to invite the scientists around the world to contribute to the book. Our international experts are from North America, South America, Australia, and Asia. In this changing climate, we should be more collaborative, but not isolated, we should be more tolerant, but not biased. We need to work together to bring our intelligence and discovery to the table for sharing.
I am finalizing this book project during the time of COVID-19 outbreak. “The world is changing before our eyes. We scientists and supporters of science must rise together to meet this unprecedented moment.” I would like to quote the statement from Sudip S. Parikh, Chief Executive Officer, AAAS. In the very trying time, we should ensure science is well integrated into decision making by giving leaders the scientific information. On a daily base, indispensable information through research is the key to move on in the modern life. I believe that microbiome research is not just a hot area, but will become an established steady field for us to explore innovative ideas for prevention, diagnosis, and therapy of human diseases. Our common goal is for the general health of human beings.
I would like to thank all authors for their contribution and editors for their hard work, especially during this pandemic. I would like to thank all reviewers who contributed to the peer-review of each chapter. Their comments and suggestions have helped us to improve our manuscripts. I also want to acknowledge the funds from the NIH, DOD, and VA that support my research in microbiome. Finally, I am deeply thankful for my parents, husband, and sons. Their love encourages me to explore the new world.
I hope you enjoy your reading on microbiome and entertain your own microbiome in the meantime.