A genomic compendium of cultivated human gut fungi characterizes the gut mycobiome and its relevance to common diseases. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38776919/)

These scientists wanted to learn more about the tiny organisms that live in our gut called fungi. They found that there wasn't enough information about these fungi because there weren't many references available. So, they decided to study the fungi found in the poop of healthy people to understand them better.

They collected 760 different genomes of fungi from the poop of healthy individuals. These genomes came from 206 different species of fungi that belonged to 48 different families. They even discovered 69 new species that were never identified before.

The scientists then looked at what these fungi do and how they help our bodies. They used this information to create a family tree showing how all these fungi are related to each other. They studied the poop samples of over 11,000 people from China and other places to understand more about the fungi living in our gut.

They also found that certain diseases, like inflammatory bowel disease, are related to the types of fungi living in our gut. To confirm this, they did experiments on animals to see how the fungi affected their health.

By doing all these studies, the scientists learned a lot about the different types of fungi in our gut and how they can be connected to diseases. This helps us understand more about our bodies and how to keep them healthy.

Yan Q., Li S., Yan Q., Huo X., Wang C., Wang X., Sun Y., Zhao W., Yu Z., Zhang Y., Guo R., Lv Q., He X., Yao C., Li Z., Chen F., Ji Q., Zhang A., Jin H., Wang G., Feng X., Feng L., Wu F., Ning J., Deng S., An Y., Guo DA., Martin FM., Ma X. A genomic compendium of cultivated human gut fungi characterizes the gut mycobiome and its relevance to common diseases. Cell. 2024 May 14:S0092-8674(24)00469-0. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.04.043.