Detecting bacterial 'forest' in human navel

Human umbilical cord is a place to support a microbial ecosystem, very similar to the biodiversity of tropical forests, according to a new study.

After two years of research, American researchers have discovered 2,368 types of bacteria that reside in the umbilical cord, of which 1,458 have never been known.

According to the Daily Mail, Dr. Rob Dunn from the University of North Carolina and colleagues studied 500 umbilical heads in the past two years but focused mainly on 60 subjects. Their research project is partly done to test claims over the past few years that have gathered organisms on human skin that have formed our first protective barrier against pathogens.

'We know that, without these bacteria, our immune system will not work smoothly . Our work is an important step to help us understand which types of bacteria play an important role. Most important in that ecosystem, ' Dr. Dunn said.

The team found that, among 2,368 different types of bacteria found in the umbilical cord, only eight (they called 'oligarchs') occurred in at least 70% of the subjects studied. These 8 bacteria are also among the most populous microorganisms, accounting for nearly 50% of the total bacteria collected from the study subjects.

On average, each navel contains about 67 different types of bacteria. National Geographic quoted Dunn as saying: 'That makes the navel look like a tropical forest'.

Dunn explained that in any tropical forest, there is a diversity of plant populations, but scientists can still count a finite number of dominant species. there.

The researchers revealed that the next step in the 'Human Navel Diversity' project is to find out why certain types of bacteria exist in this person's navel and not the other's navel. By examining the rest of the research samples, they hope to clarify the correlation between the survival of bacteria and a range of factors, from birth, age, and gender to characteristics. about the immune system of the research subject.