{"id":44754,"date":"2026-03-30T15:56:48","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T19:56:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iff.com\/?p=44754"},"modified":"2026-04-13T15:34:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T19:34:41","slug":"what-is-the-microbiome-from-buzzword-to-biological-engine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iff.com\/es\/media\/stories\/what-is-the-microbiome-from-buzzword-to-biological-engine\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is the Microbiome? From Buzzword to Biological Engine"},"content":{"rendered":"

The word microbiome<\/em> is everywhere, from conference stages to health podcasts. But the word is often misunderstood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strictly speaking, a microbiome<\/a> is the ecosystem formed by a collective community of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungi and archaea, including their genetic material, that inhabits a specific environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In common use, however, the term usually refers to the collection of microbial communities and their genetic material that live in and on the human body. That\u2019s what the microbiome<\/a> is.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The human gut microbiome<\/a> alone harbors trillions of microbes, about as many as  human cells, with a collective genetic repertoire exceeding the human genome by over 100 times. This vast \u201csecond genome\u201d orchestrates daily physiological processes far beyond digestion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about the human microbiome<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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