The human gut hosts a dynamic microbial ecosystem: the gut microbiota, which has an extensive metabolic repertoire and is increasingly recognized to influence host metabolism and overall physiology.

Altered gut microbiota states, generally referred to as dysbiosis, have been observed for a number of human diseases. Recent advances in understanding of the ecology of the gut microbiota in health and disease have led to the concept that the microbiota could provide biomarkers for disease stratification and development of novel therapeutic strategies.

This study, published in Cell & Host Microbe, underscores the importance of the temporal dynamics of gut microbiota for gut microbiome research and the need for localized longitudinal investigations in well-defined populations to assess the value of potential biomarkers for health or disease, particularly among features with high intra-individual bias.

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