What is the meaning of enterotype?

Given enterotypes are defined to indicate clusters composed of gut microbial communities that share similar bacteria composition [8], enterotypes can be used to collapse the highlymultidimensional human microbiome variation into just a few categories.

What is enteric microbiota?

The enteric microbiota is distributed in the human gastrointestinal tract and, although each person’s microbiota profile is distinct, relative abundance and distribution along the intestine of these bacterial phylotypes is similar among healthy individuals.

What are gut enterotypes?

Enterotypes are clusters of bacterial communities in the gut that allow researchers to identify common traits that bring people together. Fortunately, as in other areas of medicine and science, the microbiome appears to be governed by a set of systems and rules that researchers are working hard to elucidate and prove.

What is microbial dysbiosis?

A dysbiosis can be defined as a reduction in microbial diversity and a combination of the loss of beneficial bacteria such as Bacteroides strains and butyrate-producing bacteria such as Firmicutes10 and a rise in pathobionts12 (symbiotic bacteria that become pathogenic under certain conditions), including …

How are enterotypes related to the gut microbiota?

The clustering of the gut microbiota has led to the concept of classifying individuals by enterotypes, which is based on the notion that the gut microbiota congregates in a relatively stable composition over time [115].

When did the term enterotype first appear in nature?

In 2011, the term “ enterotype ” first appeared to the general public in Nature, which refers to stratification of human gut microbiota. However, with more studies on enterotypes conducted nowadays, doubts about the existence and robustness of enterotypes have also emerged.

Is there a way to switch the enterotype?

However, the alternation of microbiota composition in a short term might not be sufficient to switch the enterotype [11], due to the reversibility and relative stability of gut microbiota [21], [22], [23], [24]. Dietary intake and administration of antibiotics are known to significantly impact our gut microbiota [11], [25], [26].

How are enterotypes conserved in disparate populations?

Enterotypes are conserved in disparate populations – with different ethnicity, diets, life-styles and environments – suggesting that, in addition to factors involved in epithelial integrity (e.g. anti-microbial peptides), genetically predetermined innate-type IgA and/or adaptive IgA might have a role in controlling gut microbial composition.