microbiota

noun mi·cro·bi·o·ta \ ˌmī-krō-bī-ˈō-tə \

|Updated on: 4 Aug 2018

Definition of microbiota

: the microscopic organisms of a particular environment : microbiome 1

It's very possible that the master key to unlocking chronic disease will turn out to be the health and composition of the microbiota in your gut.
—Michael Pollan and Ruth Reichl

—

microbiotic

adjective

- the microbiotic environment of the gut

Recent Examples of microbiota from the Web

Between one to ten percent of the mass and half the cells in animals are microbiota.

— jason pontin, WIRED, "The 19th-Century Crank Who Tried to Tell Us About the Microbiome," 15 June 2018
And the skin, gut and tongue microbiota were all more alike among family members compared to outsiders.

— julissa treviño, Smithsonian, "A Surprising Way Dogs Are Similar to Humans," 23 Apr. 2018
First, beginning in 2001, scientists observed that mice with different microbiota had different biologies, suggesting that resident bacteria could modulate the host’s gene expression.

— jason pontin, WIRED, "The 19th-Century Crank Who Tried to Tell Us About the Microbiome," 15 June 2018
Your microbiota are mostly harmless, but many are functionally important to you also, crowding out more harmful microbes, teaching your immune system to recognize enemies, and influencing behavior like your appetite.

— jason pontin, WIRED, "The 19th-Century Crank Who Tried to Tell Us About the Microbiome," 15 June 2018
The idea, usually, is to alter organisms in the gut, where about 99 percent of human microbiota live.

— Fortune, "Why Washing Your Hands Too Much Could Make You Sick," 12 June 2018
The researchers found that microbiota were at least partially restored, but the study only involved four babies, and there wasn’t any long term follow-up.

— kate morgan, The Cut, "Everything to Know About Having a C-Section Versus Vaginal Birth," 15 May 2018
Microbiome population is affected by factors such as diet, antibiotics and gastrointestinal disease, and healthy animals have a highly individual microbiota.

— kim campbell thornton, sacbee, "‘Re-poopulation’ could become a valuable tool in animal care | The Sacramento Bee," 25 Apr. 2018
Obesity may change the microbiota (bacteria in the intestinal tract), favoring species that promote tumors.

— bryant stamford, The Courier-Journal, "Don't call 'baby fat' cute. Childhood obesity increases your kids' risk of chronic disease," 26 Apr. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of microbiota

micro- + biota

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1914

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Medical Dictionary

microbiota

noun mi·cro·bi·o·ta \ -bī-ˈōt-ə \

medical Definition of microbiota

: the microscopic organisms of a particular environment : microbiome 1

The more we learn about our microbiota, however, the more we realize how easy it is for helpful microbes to get caught in the line of fire between an antibiotic and its intended target.
—Nathan Wolfe, National Geographic, January 2013