Producer
Leopold Hoesch
Director
Duncan Copp, Stefanie Kern
Producer
n/a
Genre
Science
Broadcaster
United Docs
Length
1 x 10'
Editor
n/a
Year
2011
Meta Hit
Gut instinct

The central aim of the MetaHit project is to establish associations between the genes of the human gut microbiota and human health and disease.

The research focuses on two diseases that are becoming increasingly important in Europe: Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and obesity. First, we need to create a comprehensive reference catalogue of microbial genes and genomes present in the human gut. The second challenge is to develop tools to determine which genes and genomes of the reference catalogue are present in different individuals and at what frequency. Third, it is necessary to collect cohorts of individuals, some sick and some healthy, and determine which genes and genomes they carry. It is also critical to develop bioinformatics tools to store, organise and interpret this information to make associations between the intestinal microbiota and health and disease.

 

 

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