Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40371892›Full record

ReviewMicrobial genomics2025

Assessing the safety of microbiome perturbations.

Aline Metris, Alan W Walker, Alicia Showering, Andrea Doolan, Andrew J McBain, Antonis Ampatzoglou, Barry Murphy, Catherine O'Neill, Colette Shortt, Elizabeth M Darby and 13 more

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Microbial genomics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. The Gut-Liver Axis in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease: From Mechanistic Insights to Precision Therapeutics.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2026
    Review
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

23 authors.

Aline MetrisUnilever, Safety, Environmental and Regulatory Sciences (SERS), Sharnbrook, UK.
Alan W WalkerMicrobiome, Food Innovation and Food Security Theme, Rowett Institute, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK.
Alicia ShoweringBugBiome, Cambridge, UK.
Andrea DoolanAtlantia Clinical Trials, Cork, Ireland.
Andrew J McBainDivision of Pharmacy and Optometry, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Antonis AmpatzoglouUnilever, Safety, Environmental and Regulatory Sciences (SERS), Sharnbrook, UK.
Barry MurphyUnilever R&D Port Sunlight, Bebington, Wirral, UK.
Catherine O'NeillDivision of Dermatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Colette ShorttUlster University, Coleraine, NI BT52 1SA, Ireland.
Elizabeth M DarbyDepartment of Microbes, Infection and Microbiomes, School of Infection, Inflammation and Immunology, College of Medicine and Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
G AldisReckitt, Slough, UK.
Greg G HillebrandUniversity of Cincinnati, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Helen L BrownSchool of Biosciences, Sir Martin Evans Building, Cardiff University, Museum Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK.
Hilary P BrowneSchool of Microbiology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Jay P TiesmanThe Procter & Gamble Company, Mason, OH, USA.
Joy LengInstitute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
Leo LahtiDepartment of Computing, University of Turku, Turku FI-20014, Finland.
Nicholas S JakubovicsSchool of Dental Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Oliver HasselwanderHealth & Biosciences, IFF, c/o Danisco UK Ltd., Reigate RH2 9PW, UK.
Robert D FinnEuropean Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK.
Silvia KlamertUnilever, Safety, Environmental and Regulatory Sciences (SERS), Sharnbrook, UK.
Tamas KorcsmarosFood, Microbiomes and Health, Quadram Institute Bioscience, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK.
Lindsay J HallFood, Microbiomes and Health, Quadram Institute Bioscience, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK.

Funding

Wellcome Trust
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Everyday actions such as eating, tooth brushing or applying cosmetics inherently modulate our microbiome. Advances in sequencing technologies now facilitate detailed microbial profiling, driving intentional microbiome-targeted product development. Inspired by an academic-industry workshop held in January 2024, this review explores the oral, skin and gut microbiomes, focussing on the potential long-term implications of perturbations. Key challenges in microbiome safety assessment include confounding factors (ecological variability, host influences and external conditions like geography and diet) and biases from experimental measurements and bioinformatics analyses. The taxonomic composition of the microbiome has been associated with both health and disease, and perturbations like regular disruption of the dental biofilm are essential for preventing caries and inflammatory gum disease. However, further research is required to understand the potential long-term impacts of microbiome disturbances, particularly in vulnerable populations including infants. We propose that emerging technologies, such as omics technologies to characterize microbiome functions rather than taxa, leveraging artificial intelligence to interpret clinical study data and

Indexed as

MicrobiotaGastrointestinal MicrobiomeHumansMouthSkinartificial intelligence (AI)/MLclinical studiesgutin vitro modelsmicrobiomeoralsafety assessmentskin

Identifiers

PMID40371892
PMCPMC12282321

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.