Exploiting and Understanding Chemical Biotransformations in the Human Microbiome (D1)

SIGNIFICANCE The aggregate genomes of the trillions of microorganisms associated with the human body, the gut microbiome, extend our own human metabolism through transforming our diet and xenobiotic compounds, including host-targeted drugs and antibiotics. Furthermore, our microbial consortia encode a diverse array of biosynthetic machinery, making them an ideal source of novel natural products. We will explore the major challenges that are emerging from this new area of study: • The biotransformation and resistance to therapeutics • The discovery of natural products from microorganisms, in the context of the human microbiome and other systems • Computational approaches to understanding microbial metabolism and biosynthesis • The potential for synthetic biology to engineer microbiomes • Therapeutic approaches to manipulate the microbiome • Host-microbial signaling mechanisms • The consequences of microbial biotransformations and toxicity on host health and disease INNOVATION We anticipate that this conference could lead to long-lasting collaborative partnerships between individuals with wide-ranging expertise from both academia and industry. This will involve the introduction of state-of-the-art techniques to existing areas of research, along with an attempt to identify general biological themes that influence multiple areas of research.