Microbiome

Microbiota is the sum total of all organisms present in the human body. It includes bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other unicellular organisms. Microbiome is the combined genetic material from all microorganisms in a given host. The terms microbiome and microbiota are generally used interchangeably. As per the Human Microbiome Project, human microbiota harbors 10 to 100 trillion organisms. It means for every human cell, there are 10 times more microbes present. The microbiome is present in all parts of the body with the preponderance at the skin, oral cavity, lower gastrointestinal tract, upper respiratory tract, and genitourinary tract.1,2 As per the International Cancer Microbiome Consortium Meeting, various terms used in the study of microbiome are tabulated as in ►Table 1.