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The researchers say that the collection of computational models could help accelerate new health discoveries.
Researchers from the University of Galway have created a database of nearly a quarter of a million digital microbes, describing it as the “world’s largest” collection of these microbes.
The database, named Apollo, contains 247,092 advanced computer models, each representing the unique metabolic processes of a distinct microbe found within these bacterial communities.
The collection is expected to yield multiple societal benefits, including improved diagnostics, personalised treatments, improved drug development and probiotics, and public health insights.
The team created the collection as part of a study that focuses on the bacterial microbiome – which refers to the communities of bacteria living in and on our bodies – in the hope of improving our understanding of its impact on our health.
The project was conducted by a team of scientists at University of Galway’s Digital Metabolic Twin Centre, and was led by Prof Ines Thiele, a principal investigator with APC Microbiome Ireland, the Research Ireland centre for the study of microbiological community.
The researchers say that Apollo will allow scientists to use software to study how microbes (which are organisms that are too small to be seen without a microscope) function in the human body and interact with health and disease. It is hoped that this will accelerate new health discoveries that would otherwise solely rely on “cumbersome experiments” using living organisms.
Project scientist Dr Cyrille Thinnes said that Apollo captures “an unprecedented diversity” of microbes across continents, demographics and body sites, filling critical gaps in global health research”.
“It addresses pressing concerns about the impact of westernised lifestyles, characterised by sedentary habits, processed diets and antibiotic overuse, on microbial diversity and functions,” he said. “By including understudied non-westernised populations and body sites beyond the gut, Apollo provides a vital resource for advancing microbiome research and its applications.”
The research team also created 14,451 computer simulations of individual microbiome communities based on real-life samples to reveal how microbial metabolism varies by body site, age and health conditions.
The simulations also predicted “key faecal metabolites” that are linked to Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and child undernutrition. The researchers say that these insights could help shape future diagnostic and treatment strategies.
Project leader Thiele said that the Apollo database represents “a major step in the shift towards digital twin-enabled precision healthcare”, bringing humanity closer to tailored health solutions worldwide.
“The human microbiome is a vital player in health and disease, dynamically interacting with its host,” said Thiele. “Understanding these complex interactions requires cutting-edge technology. Our research integrates digital models of both microbes and humans, enabling us to explore the microbiome’s role in health in unprecedented detail.
“Apollo takes this innovation further by incorporating microbiome communities on a dimension to now enable personalisation on a global scale.”
Microbiome research has seen considerable developments in recent years.
In November, University College Cork scientists released a study that highlighted the connection between gut microbiota and the body’s central stress response system, proving that trillions of microorganisms in the gut control the body’s hormonal responses to stress in a time-dependent manner.
And, in February of last year, the European Microbiome Centres Consortium was launched in Brussels. The consortium aims to advance research collaboration in the area and to unlock the connections between microbiomes and various diseases.
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