title: Microbial ecology: human gut microbes associated with obesity.
abstract: Two groups of beneficial bacteria are dominant in the human gut, the Bacteroidetes and the Firmicutes. Here we show that the relative proportion of Bacteroidetes is decreased in obese people by comparison with lean people, and that this proportion increases with weight loss on two types of low-calorie diet. Our findings indicate that obesity has a microbial component, which might have potential therapeutic implications.
authors.affiliation: Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri 63108, USA.
authors.forename: Ruth E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Ley
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Turnbaugh
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: Jeffrey I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Gordon
mesh_terms: D050154:Adiposity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D041963:Bacteroidetes / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004032:Diet; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000382:microbiology*; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S