The Human Microbiome Project (HMP) is a research initiative launched by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to understand the microbial communities residing in and on the human body. It aims to explore their role in health and disease.
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The HMP was initiated in 2007 with an aim to identify and characterize the microorganisms present in healthy and diseased humans.
Researchers involved in the HMP have sequenced over 3,000 genomes from bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microorganisms.
One of the significant findings of the HMP is that microbial cells outnumber human cells by about ten to one.
The project has provided insights into how microbiomes differ between individuals based on factors like diet, lifestyle, and genetics.
The HMP has two phases: Phase I focused on mapping the healthy human microbiome, while Phase II explored how changes in the microbiome are associated with specific diseases.