MicrobeWorld

There’s more than one way to skin a cat. The latest paper from mBio reveals that although the bacterial phyla in the nose and throat are somewhat consistent from person to person, the individual species vary a great deal, indicating there is more than one ideal community for these niches, and more than one way to carry out the functions those communities perform.

Lemon et al. used 16S rRNA gene microarrays and clone libraries to tease apart the microbiota of the nostrils and oropharynx (the back of the throat) in seven volunteers. Click on the link above to read more about the study on our blog, mBiosphere.