microbiome

micro- +‎ biome or microbiota +‎ genome

microbiome (plural microbiomes)

1. The genetic information (genomes) of a microbiota.
   • 2012 August 1, “Defining the Human Microbiome”, in Nutrition Reviews, volume 70, number Suppl. 1, page S38–S44:

     The human microbiota consists of the 10-100 trillion symbiotic microbial cells harbored by each person, primarily bacteria in the gut; the human microbiome consists of the genes these cells harbor.

   • 2018, Nicola Davis, The Guardian, 26 March:

     Your body’s microbiome is all the genes your microbiota contains, however colloquially the two terms are often used interchangeably.

2. A microbial biome, such as the community of microbes within the human gut.
   • 2013 June 29, “A punch in the gut”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 72-3:

     Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.

   • 2014 July, “Second Genome”, in Life Science Leader, volume 6, number 7, page 14:

     The microbiome creates the immediate environment for our genes as they play out their part in disease mechanisms.

• thanatomicrobiome

• microbiota
• microgenome
• metagenomics

• Microbiota on Wikipedia.Wikipedia