Brain Microbiome

Here comes the first convincing evidence from a The University of New Mexico-led team that at least some vertebrates have a brain microbiome, that is, microbes (bacteria, ..) in their brains (link). Given the opportunity for contamination when extracting and studying samples, the scientists took great care to confirm that these microbial organisms were indeed in the brain and alive.

If this discovery is repeated in rodents, it will require a major rethinking of how we view the blood-brain barrier and the environment of the brain. We know that the gut microbiome and the brain interact through gut-based receptors (gut-brain axis), but this is a whole new level of interaction.