microbiome

noun mi·cro·bi·ome \ ˌmī-krō-ˈbī-ˌōm \

|Updated on: 3 Aug 2018

Definition of microbiome

1 : a community of microorganisms (such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses) that inhabit a particular environment and especially the collection of microorganisms living in or on the human body

Your body is home to about 100 trillion bacteria and other microbes, collectively known as your microbiome.
—Carl Zimmer

… what's arguably become the hottest area of medicine: microbiome research, an emerging field that's investigating how the bacteria that live in and on our bodies affect our health.
—Sunny Sea Gold

2 : the collective genomes of microorganisms inhabiting a particular environment and especially the human body

They form one community among the many that make up the human microbiome: the full genetic complement of bacteria and other organisms at home on your skin, gums, and teeth, in your genital tract, and especially in your gut.
—Nathan Wolfe

Recent Examples of microbiome from the Web

There is a huge interest in the organisms that humans host, especially in the gut microbiome.

— helen bynum, WSJ, "‘Microbia’ Review: The Many Tiny Worlds Among Us," 12 July 2018
The rodents are part of a study to determine how living on a sterile ship in the dark vacuum of space alters circadian rhythms—and potentially disrupts a healthy microbiome.

— megan molteni, WIRED, "NASA's Astro-Mice Will Test What Space Does to Your Gut," 28 June 2018
The researchers did not expect to find such canine-human microbiome similarities.

— julissa treviño, Smithsonian, "A Surprising Way Dogs Are Similar to Humans," 23 Apr. 2018
The bacteria, fungi, and other microbes that live in the body — mostly in the gut — make up what is known as the human microbiome.

— jonathan saltzman, BostonGlobe.com, "Bedford startup Kaleido Biosciences raises $101 million in funding round," 25 June 2018
Image Several studies have suggested that babies born by cesarean section are at higher risk for obesity in childhood than those born vaginally, perhaps because of differences in the babies’ microbiomes.

— nicholas bakalar, New York Times, "C-Sections Not Tied to Overweight Children," 12 June 2018
The Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve a medicine that targets the microbiome.

— jonathan saltzman, BostonGlobe.com, "Startup aims to make allies of human gut’s microbes," 19 June 2018
Sweeteners such as saccharin have been shown to change the type and function of the gut microbiome, the community of microorganisms that live in the intestine.

— eunice zhang, Washington Post, "Diet drinks may seem like a good idea, but their effects may surprise you," 3 June 2018
The microbiome, the totality of microorganisms in the human body, has spurred intense interest among Parkinson’s researchers.

— diana kwon, Scientific American, "Does Parkinson’s Begin in the Gut?," 8 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'microbiome.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of microbiome

micro- + biome

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1952

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Medical Dictionary

microbiome

noun mi·cro·bi·ome \ ˌmī-krō-ˈbī-ˌōm \

medical Definition of microbiome

1 : a community of microorganisms (such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses) that inhabit a particular environment and especially the collection of microorganisms living in or on the human body

The intestinal microbiome consists of the microorganisms that inhabit the gut.
—Clara Abraham et al., The New England Journal of Medicine, 19 Nov. 2009

Collectively known as the microbiome, this community may play a role in regulating one's risk of obesity, asthma and allergies.
—Carrie Arnold, Scientific American, March 2012

The human oral microbiome comprises all microbial species in the oral cavity.
—Naomi P. O'Grady, The Journal of the American Medical Association, 20 June 2012

2 : the collective genomes of microorganisms inhabiting a particular environment and especially the human body

As part of a new citizen-science initiative called the American Gut project, the lab sequenced my microbiome—that is, the genes not of “me,” exactly, but of the several hundred microbial species with whom I share this body.
—Michael Pollan, The New York Times, 19 May 2013

Together, the genomes of these microbial symbionts (collectively defined as the microbiome) provide traits that humans did not need to evolve on their own.
—Peter J. Turnbaugh et al., Nature, 18 Oct. 2007