title: Diversity of key players in the microbial ecosystems of the human body.
abstract: Coexisting bacteria form various microbial communities in human body parts. In these ecosystems they interact in various ways and the properties of the interaction network can be related to the stability and functional diversity of the local bacterial community. In this study, we analyze the interaction network among bacterial OTUs in 11 locations of the human body. These belong to two major groups. One is the digestive system and the other is the female genital tract. In each local ecosystem we determine the key species, both the ones being in key positions in the interaction network and the ones that dominate by frequency. Beyond identifying the key players and discussing their biological relevance, we also quantify and compare the properties of the 11 networks. The interaction networks of the female genital system and the digestive system show totally different architecture. Both the topological properties and the identity of the key groups differ. Key groups represent four phyla of prokaryotes. Some groups appear in key positions in several locations, while others are assigned only to a single body part. The key groups of the digestive and the genital tracts are totally different.
authors.affiliation: The Microsoft Research - University of Trento Centre for Computational and Systems Biology, Piazza Manifattura 1, Rovereto, TN, 38068, Italy.|MTA Centre for Ecological Research, Karolina út 29, 1113, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Ferenc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jordán
authors.affiliation: The Microsoft Research - University of Trento Centre for Computational and Systems Biology, Piazza Manifattura 1, Rovereto, TN, 38068, Italy.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lauria
authors.affiliation: The Microsoft Research - University of Trento Centre for Computational and Systems Biology, Piazza Manifattura 1, Rovereto, TN, 38068, Italy.|GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Duesternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scotti
authors.affiliation: The Microsoft Research - University of Trento Centre for Computational and Systems Biology, Piazza Manifattura 1, Rovereto, TN, 38068, Italy.|Life Sciences Research Unit, University of Luxembourg, 162 A, avenue de la Faïencerie, L-1511 Luxembourg.
authors.forename: Thanh-Phuong
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: The Microsoft Research - University of Trento Centre for Computational and Systems Biology, Piazza Manifattura 1, Rovereto, TN, 38068, Italy.
authors.forename: Paurush
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Praveen
authors.affiliation: The Microsoft Research - University of Trento Centre for Computational and Systems Biology, Piazza Manifattura 1, Rovereto, TN, 38068, Italy.|Department of Mathematics, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 14, Povo, TN, 38123, Italy.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morine
authors.affiliation: The Microsoft Research - University of Trento Centre for Computational and Systems Biology, Piazza Manifattura 1, Rovereto, TN, 38068, Italy.|Department of Mathematics, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 14, Povo, TN, 38123, Italy.
authors.forename: Corrado
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Priami
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000382:microbiology*; D005836:Genitalia, Female / Q000382:microbiology*; D018594:Human Body; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D064307:Microbiota; D008962:Models, Theoretical