Hello,
in the literature, the studies based on the next-generation sequencing analysis of microbes are called "microbiome studies". On Wikipedia, the microbiome is defined as: "the microorganisms found in a specific environment". Microbiota is instead: "ecological communities of commensal, symbiotic and pathogenic microorganisms found in and on all multicellular organisms".
If I study the species richness of microbes in the gut, for instance, what should be the correct title of the work? "Microbiome analysis of the gut" or "microbiota characterization of the gut"? Or are the two terms simply synonyms?
Since I am not studying the interactions between microbes but only their presence, I think "microbiome" is the correct term. Am I right?
Thank you
Dear Luigi Marongiu Please, take a look at this paper:
Microbiome definition re-visited: old concepts and new challenges (Berg et al. 2020).
Microbiome and Microbiota are synonyms They are used almost interchangeably.
Note: In a quick google battle, it is essentially a tie
Next Generation Sequencing microbiome: 3,860,000 results with slightly less for
Next Generation Sequencing microbiota: 3,550,000 results
Microbiome: is (perhaps larger and smaller), "the genome of all the microorganisms, symbiotic and pathogenic, living in and on all vertebrates. "
and probably started only in animals but now includes plant microbiomes as well
Wikipedia Microbiome
Microbiota tends to mean in a singular environment like the gut but considers more "the ecological communities of commensal, symbiotic, and pathogenic microorganisms" found in and on all multicellular organisms studied to date from plants to animals. " Microbiota seems to stress the ecosystem but these differences seem more connotative than any major difference
The Ngram viewer suggests that in the corpus of scanned published books Microbiota is the clear winner see
https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=microbiome%2C+microbiota&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=26&smoothing=3&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cmicrobiome%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cmicrobiota%3B%2Cc0
hope that helps a little
Chris
Though the Microbiome and Microbiota are interchangeable terminologies, Microbiome is the most suitable term for NGS because the microbiome refers to the microbes and their entire genome whereas, microbiota refers to specific microbes of the specific community.
Hope it helps Luigi Marongiu
Dear Luigi Marongiu Please, take a look at this paper:
Microbiome definition re-visited: old concepts and new challenges (Berg et al. 2020).
This is rather controversial and is of debate. While some say it is synonymous, others disagree. Popular opinion is that the microbiota refers to the microbes themselves and the microbiome refers to its genome. I hope that helps.
In most practical situations, "microbiome" and "microbiota" are used interchangeably; however, there is a distinction, and some authors are proposing that we re-visit/re-define those terms. See "Microbiome definition re-visited: old concepts and new challenges (Berg et al. 2020)". That being said, there is a group of people that classify the "microbiome" as the collection of genes, not the microorganisms (https://www.nature.com/subjects/microbiome); IF YOU ASSUME this definition, the proper word for your study would be "microbiota" and not "microbiome".
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