A safe for the "good" germs

The human microbiota, a community of thousands of billions of microorganisms including bacteria, fungi and viruses.

-Riley Griffin

While global microbial diversity is decimated by antibiotics, processed foods, filtered water and other wonders of modern life, researchers propose to create a global microbiotech protection chamber to protect the long-term health of humans. humanity.

The human microbiota, a community of trillions of microorganisms including bacteria, fungi and viruses, performs essential functions for the health of the human body, ranging from digestion to strengthening the immune system. Scientists believe that the loss of microbial diversity has already had serious health consequences and could lead to a crisis. Researchers from Rutgers University propose to build a safe of last resort to store the "good" germs likely to disappear soon on the planet.

"The decline in microbial diversity has been dramatic over the past 50 to 70 years, decreasing from one generation to the next," said Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello, lead author of the proposal and a professor in the department of biochemistry and biochemistry. of microbiology of Rutgers. "But we can not wait another 70 years. It's a threat to us right now. Asthma, celiac disease, allergies, type 1 diabetes and autism are skyrocketing.

And the loss of microbial diversity is probably an underlying factor. The question is: can we restore them?
Yes, said Dominguez-Bello. But only if researchers, scientists and governments act now. While urban communities are seeing a decline in microbial diversity, Dominguez-Bello said she hoped to encourage researchers to take samples from people with robust and healthy microbes. These people tend to be in remote areas with limited access to some modern medicines, she said. According to a 2015 Science Magazine report, South American Indians who have not been exposed to antibiotics have twice the dietary diversity of otherwise healthy people in the United States.

The microbial vault would act as a hard disk in which researchers could store endangered microbiota backups. Scientists and doctors may one day be able to prevent some diseases by reintroducing the microbiota lost in at-risk populations, the researchers said. "In case of war or epidemic, this collection could potentially be used for humanitarian reasons," Dominguez-Bello said. "The United Nations could ask applicants to recover some microbiota in case of emergency. Mr. Dominguez-Bello estimates that the microbial safe will require about $ 3 million in the first year to hire workers who will then collect and store the microbes in a depot equipped with liquid nitrogen tanks. Once fully launched, the vault would need ongoing funding to maintain itself.