Open AccessThe role of the microbiota in ageing: current state and perspectives
Author(s) -
Lynch Denise B.,
Jeffery Ian B.,
O'Toole Paul W.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
wiley interdisciplinary reviews: systems biology and medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.087
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1939-005X
pISSN - 1939-5094
DOI - 10.1002/wsbm.1293
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , disease , ageing , biology , senescence , gut flora , gerontology , neuroscience , physiology , medicine , immunology , genetics , pathology , paleontology
Since the application of high‐throughput technologies to investigate complex microbial communities, alterations in the human gut microbiota have been associated with an increasing number of diseases and conditions. This field of research has developed into an area of intense study which is quite different to the microbial investigations that have preceded it in terms of both the broadness of the area of research and the complexity of the analyses. In this review, we discuss gut microbiota changes observed in ageing in the context of the physiological changes that accompany senescence, examine what correlations can be established or inferred, and we discuss what key questions remain to be answered in the field. WIREs Syst Biol Med 2015, 7:131–138. doi: 10.1002/wsbm.1293 This article is categorized under: Developmental Biology > Developmental Processes in Health and Disease Physiology > Mammalian Physiology in Health and Disease