Gut Microbiota and Short Chain Fatty Acids:Influence on the Autonomic Nervous System

Reaching across multiple fields of focus,spanning from periodontistry to gastroenterology to neurobiology to behavior,interest in the influence of the microbiome in human physiology and pathology has risen over the past few decades.Microbiota co-exist in and on humans forming an evolutionarily symbiotic biological unit,a halobiont,in which disruptions in the relationship can occur through genomic alterations and mutations[1],The human microbiome consists of bacteria,viruses,fungi,and protozoans that contribute 450 times more genes to this relationship and slightly outnumber human host cells[2,3].The bacteria in the gastrointestinal(GI)tract are of the most interest and exist within five phyla:Bacteroidetes,Firmicutes,Pro-teobacteria,Actinobacteria,and Verrucomicrobi&.Within the Verrucomicrobia an interesting bacterium has emerged.