Sequencing of Influenza virus and the microbiome to determine role of microbiome diversity in causing infection in respiratory tract of humans

Our present understanding of the nature and extent of the core or at least the set of common microbial members of the upper respiratory track (URT) of humans is limited. An effort to establish these basic components is ongoing as part of the Human Microbiome Project (HMP), a NIH Roadmap initiative. Furthermore, there we have little if any understanding of the influence acute respiratory infections, such as influenza virus, have on the URT microbiome, nor do we understand the role the URT microbiome plays in host susceptibility to infection. The individual studies in this umbrella project will fill some of these gaps in knowledge by determining the baseline status of the human URT microbiome and changes that occur during the course of an influenza viral infection.