GUT MICROBIOTA IN 2012 Toward understanding and manipulating the gut microbiota

New techniques have introduced unprecedented sensitivity to the investigation of the gut microbiota, enabling insights into the discrete contributions of select bacterial species and advancing our mechanistic appreciation of the roles of diet and host immunity in limiting or enabling metabolic and inflammatory disease. Aitken, J. D. & Gewirtz, A. T. Nat. Rev. Gastroenterol Hepatol. 10, 72-74 (2013); published online 8 January 2013; doi:10.1038/nrgastro.2012.252