Research for the 21st Century: Can We Draw a Blueprint of the Bowel Ecosystem?

The bacterial community of the bowel of humans and other animals derives carbon and energy sources from the diet and secretions of the host. The metabolic products generated by the community, and the antigens and other molecules associated with the bacterial cells, interact with the bowel mucosa. Some bacterial products are absorbed from the bowel and affect the systemic organs of the body. The interactions that occur within the bacterial community and between the community and food components and host tissues comprise a highly interactive web. It is concluded that this interactive matrix characteristic of the bowel ecosystem may be studied by detailed autecological and synecological experiments. The results of these studies could be used to construct a general blueprint of the healthy bowel and might reveal biomarkers predictive of health or disease.