Gastrointestinal Microbiota and Advances in Prebiotic and Probiotic Research Conference - Opening Remarks

Jeffrey Gordon, M.D.
Center for Genome Sciences
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, MO

Dr. Jeffrey Gordon welcomed the audience to the Gastrointestinal Microbiota and Advances in probiotic and prebiotic research on behalf of himself and his co-chair Dr. Jon Vanderhoof. Dr. Gordon emphasized that determining the rules that govern assembly and maintenance of gut microbiota, understanding its diversity within and between individuals, and exploring how variation may relate to function are topics that need to be addressed to further advance study of probiotic research. He stated that research is needed to determine how or whether the microbiota should be manipulated to optimize its performance in the context of an individual's physiology. Finally, research is also needed to understand the impact of individual probiotic species, or mixtures of species, on the composition and functions of the human gut microbiota, the degree to which probiotic effects depend on modification of the microbiota, and the influence of the genotype and/or metabotype of the host. These issues have important implications for the design and interpretation of clinical trials to explore whether probiotics have specific or generic effects and whether microbial ecology or other properties of the host (such as diet) should influence probiotic consumption. Dr. Gordon indicated that he hoped that some of these issues would be addressed by the international Human Microbiome Project.

DNRC Director: Dr. Van S. Hubbard || DNRC Home || Contact DNRC

The Division of Nutrition Research Coordination is part of the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.

Privacy || Disclaimer || Copyright || Credits || Accessibility

Department of Health and Human Services