Human epigenetics and microbiome: the potential for a revolution in both research areas by integrative studies

A simple PubMed search confirms the intuitive thinking that human epigenetics and human microbiome research have received considerable attention in the recent years (13,082 and 28,446 hits, respectively). It is therefore astonishing that the two fields are very rarely studied together (118 results for ‘human epigenetics microbiome’ search, but only 3 actual research articles among literature reviews and opinions articles), while the need for interdisciplinary studies is often called for. It makes perfect sense that the host-associated microbiome may be the ultimate environmental trigger for epigenetic processes, because of its spatial location and ability to convert environmental and diet-derived compounds before they reach human cells. It is already known that the dynamic nature of human epigenetics is a significant hurdle for clinical translation of basic research, and the human microbiome, which is both personalized and dynamic, is probably an additional significant confounder.