By Catherine Varmazis

Oct. 16, 2008 | In Heidelberg, Germany, today researchers from eight countries and the European Commission announced the formation of a new research enterprise, the International Human Microbiome Consortium (IHMC), which will sequence the genomes of tens of thousands of microorganisms that live in and on the human body and that influence human health.

Initial funding of more than US$200 million is being provided by the U.S. National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and the European Commission (EC).

Jane Peterson, associate director of extramural research at the NHGRI, said international collaboration is very important in advancing science, and that “the sum is more than the parts.” Participants in the IHMC have agreed in principle to the free and open release of data and resources, and the coordination of research plans, as well as to sharing innovative developments, she reported. Data from microbiome research already being conducted by the NIH Human Microbiome Project and the EC Metagenomics of the Human Intestinal Tract (MetaHIT) project will contribute an initial set of microbial genomes to the IHMC. Because the field is so young – less than three years old – there is much to be gained by collaboration, Peterson said.

Christian Desaintes, from the Research Directorate of the European Commission, said the IHMC’s goal for five years hence is to be sequencing 1000 microbiome genomes from over 1000 individuals’ body parts. The parts in question are the skin, mouth, nasal passages, gastro-intestinal tract, and urogenital tract.

Dusko Ehrlich, coordinator of the MetaHIT project, encapsulated the vast scale of the work to be done: “We know there are 10 times more microbial cells in our bodies than our own cells. We know there are 100 times more microbial genes that are active in our bodies than our own genes. We know that microbes that live within us play an important role in our health and disease. But we do not know by far what these microorganisms are and how they act. The IHMC aims to provide a description of microbial genes and genomes and find how they work.”

The MetaHIT project will contribute to a reference catalog of genes and genomes by analyzing the microbiomes of hundreds of individuals from the Mediterranean region (Spain) and Nordic region (Denmark), initially focusing on two conditions of increasing concern: obesity and inflammatory bowel disease.

Responding to a reporter’s question, the speakers acknowledged that developing countries were conspicuously absent from this project, and that environmental differences are crucial to a full understanding of human disease. They expressed the hope that interest in the IHMC project would spur additional funding from private sources, to enable less wealthy countries to participate.

One example of the possible relationship between environment and microbiomes was proffered by a researcher from China. He said it is not clear why Chinese who adopt a Western diet tend to develop metabolic diseases of the West that do not affect those who eat only a traditional Chinese diet. He speculated that it might be related to the microbiomes in the gut. By studying the microbiomes of Chinese who eat only a traditional diet, the IHMC project could shed light on this problem.

For more details on today’s announcement, see the press release.