Gut Microbiome Manipulation: Focus on Microbiome Characterization, Diagnostics and Therapeutic Indications

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past two decades, advances in omics technology have allowed comprehensive characterizations of the gut microbiome in many health disorders. Gut microbiomes interact with the host through their metabolites, defense against pathogens and/or immunological promotion. Perturbation of host–microbiome crosstalk has been associated with different health disorders, including irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel diseases, diabetes, Clostridium difficile infection and mental health disorders. Therefore, the focus of interest of the current wave of microbiome research is to investigate how to manipulate the gut microbiome consortium to promote human health. Manipulation of the gut microbiome can be achieved through restoring microbiota diversity and composition or by inducing certain functional activities. Several targeted and non-targeted approaches are being tested for their efficiency in modulating the microbiome balance. These approaches include fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) and prebiotic, probiotic and CRISPR-Cas9-engineered phage. The purpose of this Special Issue is to create a collection of scientific reports that help us to understand the microbiome’s therapeutic potential in different disorders. We invite original articles and extensive reviews in the areas of microbiome characterization, biomarker identification and microbiome-based therapeutic manipulations. Any type of article on host–microbiome crosstalk is welcome.

Dr. Walid Mottawea
Guest Editor

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