A human gut microbial gene catalogue established by metagenomic sequencing

To understand the impact of gut microbes on human health and well-being it is crucial to assess their genetic potential. Here we describe the Illumina-based metagenomic sequencing, assembly and characterization of 3.3 million non-redundant microbial genes, derived from 576.7 gigabases of sequence, from faecal samples of 124 European individuals. The gene set, ∼150 times larger than the human gene complement, contains an overwhelming majority of the prevalent (more frequent) microbial genes of the cohort and probably includes a large proportion of the prevalent human intestinal microbial genes. The genes are largely shared among individuals of the cohort. Over 99% of the genes are bacterial, indicating that the…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: FP7/2007-2013, FP7/2007, 30725008
• GO
  Government of Jiangxi Province
• L
  Lundbeckfonden
• SC
  South China University of Technology
• HL
  H. Lundbeck A/S
• ID
  Instituto de Salud Carlos III
• SR
  Strategic Research Council