Composition and temporal stability of the gut microbiota in older persons. human gut metagenome

Goals of this study are to refine our understanding of diet-microbiota associations and differential taxon abundance, to identify microbiota configurations associated with ageing in both community and long-stay residential care elderly subjects, to determine associations of these configurations with health, to determine if particular microbiota profiles are more variable over time than others, and to assess the role of antibiotics in temporal instability, using 16S rDNA sequences from faecal gut microbiota. These data will provide improved gut microbiota profile definitions, and inform on design of dietary or antibiotic interventions that target gut microbiota.