ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dan Knights - Computational microbiologist
Dan Knights develops computational methods for doing precision medicine with gut bacterial communities, or microbiomes, and he applies those methods to study human disease.

Why you should listen

Trillions of bacteria live in our guts, protecting us from infection and aiding our digestion, yet these communities are so complex that we need advanced computational methods to study them. In his multidisciplinary research lab, Dan Knights combines expertise in data mining and biology to learn about how modern lifestyles and medical practices are affecting our microbiomes and leading to increases in modern diseases.

Knights received his PhD in computer science from the University of Colorado, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School. He has co-authored more than 70 highly cited articles in top multidisciplinary journals. In 2015 he was named a McKnight Land-Grant Professor by the University of Minnesota. His lab is building a next-generation informatics pipeline for microbiome-targeted drug discovery, linking nutrition and microbial activity to clinical outcomes.

More profile about the speaker
Dan Knights | Speaker | TED.com
TEDMED 2017

Dan Knights: How we study the microbes living in your gut

丹·奈池: 我们是如何研究人体内的微生物的

Filmed:
1,441,842 views

你的肠道内大约生存着一百万亿个微生物——它们有保护你免于感染、助消化和调节你的免疫系统的作用。然而,随着我们的身体适应现代生活,我们开始失去一些正常的微生物;与此同时,发达国家中,因为肠道内微生物失去多样性而引发的疾病正在飙升。计算微生物学家丹·奈池分享了他的关于发展中国家与美国人体内微生物群不同的一些有趣发现,以及它们如何影响我们的健康。了解更多生活在你体内的微生物世界吧——以及正在进行的创造关于恢复和补充微生物群工具的工作。
- Computational microbiologist
Dan Knights develops computational methods for doing precision medicine with gut bacterial communities, or microbiomes, and he applies those methods to study human disease. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
If I asked you to name名称 a microbe微生物
that's living活的 in your gut肠道,
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如果请你举例说出一个
生活在你肠道里的微生物,
很多人可能会说大肠杆菌,
00:18
many许多 of you would probably大概 say E. coli大肠杆菌.
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确实很多人都这么说。
大肠杆菌是最有名的肠道微生物,
00:21
A lot of people say this.
It's the best-known最有名的 of the gut肠道 microbes微生物.
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但事实证明,
大肠杆菌只占你肠道中
00:25
But it turns out that E. coli大肠杆菌
is outnumbered寡不敌众 in your gut肠道
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细菌数量的1‰,
00:30
about a thousand to one
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其它很多细菌你可能听都没听过,
00:32
by other species种类, many许多 of which哪一个
you probably大概 haven't没有 heard听说 of.
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00:35
These are Bacteroides杆菌;
Prevotella普氏菌 is another另一个 example.
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像类杆菌属的细菌;
另一个例子是普氏菌。
在现代人的肠道菌群中,
这两种细菌占主导地位。
00:39
Those are the two that dominate支配
the modern现代 human人的 gut肠道.
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00:43
There are about a hundred trillion
microbes微生物 living活的 inside you.
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人体内生活着约100万亿的微生物,
00:49
We call this your microbiome微生物,
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我们称之为微生物群,
它们就像生活在
你体内的一个小世界——
00:52
so it's like a little world世界
living活的 inside you --
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实际更像一个宇宙。
00:54
actually其实 more like a universe宇宙.
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00:56
A hundred trillion means手段
if you took a blade of grass
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100万亿的数量概念是这样的,
如果一根草
代表一个生活在你肠道内的微生物,
01:00
and planted种植的 it for every一切 microbe微生物
living活的 in your gut肠道,
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那么就可以种满100万个足球场。
01:03
that could fill a million百万 football足球 fields领域.
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因此这是一个难以置信的复杂系统。
01:05
So it's incredibly令人难以置信 complex复杂.
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但有趣的是,
01:07
But interestingly有趣,
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随着我们的身体逐渐适应现代生活,
01:09
as our bodies身体 have been adapting适应
to life in modern现代 society社会,
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我们正在失去一些正常的微生物,
01:13
we're losing失去 some of our normal正常 microbes微生物,
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与此同时,
01:18
and at the same相同 time,
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在世界发达国家,
01:21
there are quite相当 a few少数 diseases疾病
related有关 to the gut肠道
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01:24
that are skyrocketing暴涨
in developed发达 nations国家 all around the world世界.
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很多与肠道有关的疾病正在飙升。
01:29
And many许多 of you probably大概 know
someone有人 who suffers患有 from obesity肥胖,
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许多在座的各位
可能就认识一些饱受肥胖症、
01:34
diabetes糖尿病, Crohn's克罗恩 disease疾病
or ulcerative溃疡 colitis结肠 炎,
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糖尿病、节段性回肠炎
或溃疡性结肠炎、
过敏和哮喘疾病之苦的患者。
01:38
allergies过敏 and asthma哮喘.
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和许多
01:40
Every一切 one of these diseases疾病
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与新陈代谢及自身免疫相关
的病症一样,
01:41
and many许多 others其他 related有关 to metabolism代谢
and autoimmunity自身免疫
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这些疾病都与肠道(菌群)
缺少健康多样性有关。
01:46
are linked关联 to a loss失利
of healthy健康 diversity多样 in the gut肠道.
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01:52
My lab实验室 got our first indication迹象 of this
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我的实验室在研究非人类
——灵长类动物时,

第一次发现了这个征兆。
01:54
when actually其实 we were studying研究
non-human非人类的 primates灵长类动物.
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我们想了解
当猴子由丛林搬到动物园后,
01:58
We wanted to find out what happens发生
to a monkey's猴子的 microbiome微生物
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它们体内的微生物群
会发生什么变化。
02:03
when they move移动 from the jungle丛林 to a zoo动物园.
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02:08
Does their microbiome微生物 change更改?
Do they pick up new bugs虫子?
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它们体内的微生物群改变了吗?
是否增加了新微生物?
失去一些微生物吗?
微生物群是在变好,还是变糟呢?
02:10
Do they lose失去 some?
Does it get better or worse更差?
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我们分别对丛林中(生活的)
两个不同物种进行了追踪研究,
02:13
We tracked追踪 two different不同
species种类 in the jungle丛林,
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一个物种在越南,
一个在哥斯达黎加,
02:17
one in Vietnam越南, one in Costa哥斯达黎加 Rica哥斯达黎加,
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我们用它们的粪便
进行了DNA测序,
02:20
and then we sequenced测序
the DNA脱氧核糖核酸 from their stool粪便.
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这就是我们实验室
对微生物进行研究的方法。
02:23
This is how we study研究 the microbiome微生物
in my research研究 lab实验室.
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通过DNA比对,我们发现
野外的这两个物种体内,
02:27
And what we found发现 in the DNA脱氧核糖核酸
is that in the wild野生,
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微生物群截然不同。
02:31
these two species种类 had
totally完全 different不同 sets of microbes微生物.
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微生物群
就像物种的指纹一样。
02:35
It was like a fingerprint指纹 for the species种类.
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但在动物园里, 它们的微生物群
却失去了大部分的多样性,
02:37
But in the zoo动物园, they had lost丢失
most of that diversity多样
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并获得了一些其它的微生物,
02:43
and had acquired后天
some other set of microbes微生物.
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02:46
So this was very curious好奇.
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这种现象非常奇怪。
我们有两个不同的微生物群:
02:49
We've我们已经 got these two different不同 microbiomes微生物组.
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野外动物体内的微生物群,
02:51
In the wild野生, picture图片 a lush青葱的
tropical热带 rainforest雨林
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它就像郁郁葱葱的热带雨林
活在这些猴子的肠道内,
02:55
living活的 the guts胆量 of these monkeys猴子.
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02:58
That's the kind of diversity多样
that we're talking about.
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也就是我们说的多样性;
然而在动物园里, 它们
(微生物群)却失去了多样性,
03:01
Then in the zoo动物园, they've他们已经 lost丢失 diversity多样.
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03:04
Picture图片 a rainforest雨林
that's been burned to the ground地面
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就好像一些入侵物种
接管了烧光的雨林,
03:07
and taken采取 over by a few少数 invasive侵入的 species种类.
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03:11
That's more like the microbiome微生物
in a captive俘虏 primate灵长类动物.
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因此它们更像圈养灵长类
动物体内的微生物群。
03:15
Now, in the meantime与此同时,
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与此同时,在动物园里,
03:17
many许多 of the animals动物 in the zoo动物园
are not doing so well.
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许多动物身体状况都不太好,
它们有肥胖、
03:19
They have issues问题 with obesity肥胖,
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消瘦、
03:22
wasting浪费,
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肠胃炎、腹泻、腹胀等问题,
03:24
gastroenteritis胃肠炎, diarrhea腹泻, bloating腹胀,
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有些动物几乎活不下去了。
03:27
and some of them were barely仅仅
holding保持 onto their lives生活.
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03:31
Now, of course课程, we were
very interested有兴趣 to find out
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因此,我们对找出这些
所谓的入侵物种很感兴趣,
它们主宰着动物园里
动物体内的微生物群。
03:34
what are these so-called所谓 invasive侵入的 species种类
that are taking服用 over in the zoo动物园.
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03:39
So we went back to the DNA脱氧核糖核酸,
and what the DNA脱氧核糖核酸 told us
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所以我们分析了它们的DNA,
发现动物园里的
每只猴子的肠道内
03:42
is that every一切 monkey in the zoo动物园
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都被类杆菌和普氏菌所主宰,
03:47
had become成为 dominated占主导地位
by Bacteroides杆菌 and Prevotella普氏菌,
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这些猴子和现代人肠内
拥有相同的微生物群。
03:52
the same相同 microbes微生物 that we all have
in our guts胆量 as modern现代 humans人类.
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03:59
We wanted to find a way to visualize想象 this,
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为找到让这一发现结果
可视化的方法,
我们使用了一些多元生态学工具,
04:01
and we used some tools工具
from multivariate多元 ecology生态
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把我们研究的微生物群
放在(坐标图的)轴线上。
04:05
to put all of the microbiomes微生物组
we were studying研究 onto an axis.
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这里你看到的是一个距离图,
04:10
And what you're seeing眼看 here
is a distance距离 plot情节
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每个点代表着
不同动物的微生物群,
04:14
where every一切 point
is a different不同 animal's动物 microbiome微生物.
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所以,每一点也代表了
整个动物园的微生物。
04:19
So every一切 point represents代表
a whole整个 zoo动物园 of microbes微生物.
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04:23
And the microbiomes微生物组
that have a lot of microbes微生物 in common共同
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如果不同微生物群中
彼此的微生物相似的话,
它们在图中的距离就很近;
04:27
are close to each other.
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差异很大的微生物群,
在图中则离彼此很远。
04:28
The ones那些 that are very different不同
are farther更远 apart距离.
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这里展示的是:
04:30
So this is showing展示 you
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最左边的点
代表两组野外的猴子,
04:32
that the two groups of wild野生 monkeys猴子
are over on the left.
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左上方的点是
高度濒危的越南猴,
04:38
The top最佳 left are these
highly高度 endangered濒危 monkeys猴子
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叫做白臀叶猴,
04:42
called the red-shanked红-拍打 douc白臀 in Vietnam越南.
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左下角的点则是
来自哥斯达黎加的猴子。
04:45
And at the bottom底部 left
are monkeys猴子 from Costa哥斯达黎加 Rica哥斯达黎加.
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04:49
So you can see that they have
totally完全 different不同 microbiomes微生物组 in the wild野生.
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从图中看出,野外生活的猴子
有着完全不同的微生物群。
而在动物园里,这两种猴子
(的微生物群)正在汇合,
04:52
And then the same相同 two species种类
of monkey in the zoo动物园 are converging收敛,
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它们的微生物群改变了,
04:58
so their microbiomes微生物组 change更改
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变得更加相似,
05:00
and they become成为
much more similar类似 to each other,
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尽管它们(猴子)来自
不同大洲的动物园、
05:03
even though虽然 these are zoos动物园
on different不同 continents大陆,
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不同的地理区域和不同的饮食。
05:06
different不同 geographical地理 regions地区,
and they're eating different不同 diets饮食.
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我们也研究过
其他种类的灵长类动物,
05:09
Now, we did study研究
some other species种类 of primate灵长类动物.
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你觉得哪种灵长类动物
05:12
What species种类 of primate灵长类动物
do you think is even more divergent发散
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比圈养的灵长类
更加与野生灵长类不同?
05:18
from the wild野生 primates灵长类动物
than the captive俘虏 primates灵长类动物?
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05:24
Modern现代 humans人类.
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是现代人类!
05:27
These are humans人类
living活的 in developing发展 nations国家.
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图中这些点代表
生活在发展中国家的人,
和物园里的灵长类比起来,
05:30
So they were more different不同
from the wild野生 primates灵长类动物
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他们与野生灵长类更加不同。
05:33
than those in the zoo动物园.
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我们研究的最后一组
在图中最右边,
05:35
And the final最后 group that we studied研究,
all the way on the right,
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05:41
is people living活的 in the USA美国.
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他们是生活在美国的人们。
05:44
And when I saw this figure数字,
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当我看到这个图时,
脖子后面的汗毛都竖起来了!
05:46
the hairs raised上调 up
on the back of my neck颈部,
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因为一种解释是,
"我的妈呀,太有趣了,
05:50
because one way to think about it is,
"Oh, that's interesting有趣,
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圈养的猴子
快变成美国人了!“
05:53
captive俘虏 monkeys猴子 are sort分类 of on their way
to becoming变得 like Americans美国人."
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(笑声)
05:57
(Laughter笑声)
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但另一种解读则是,
05:58
But the other way to think about it
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美国人就像超级圈养的猴子。
06:00
is that Americans美国人
are like super-captive超级俘虏 monkeys猴子.
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06:04
And I was actually其实 looking
at this figure数字 on my computer电脑 screen屏幕
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当我听到四只动物园白臀叶猴
因为肠道疾病而死的消息时,
06:09
when I got the news新闻
that four of the red-shanked红-拍打 doucsdoucs
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我正看着电脑屏幕上的这个图。
06:14
had died死亡 in the zoo动物园 of gut-related肠道相关 issues问题.
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因此,对这些动物来说,
06:17
So for some of these animals动物,
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它们体内
是否生存着正常的微生物,
06:19
having the right microbes微生物
living活的 inside them
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可能是个生死攸关的问题。
06:22
may可能 be a matter of survival生存.
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我们自然就要谈到人的问题,
06:24
Now this brings带来 us
to the human人的 part部分 of the story故事.
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显然,美国人体内
微生物群的失衡,
06:27
Obviously明显, the microbiomes微生物组 in the USA美国
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并没有造成
像动物园那么多夭折,
06:30
aren't causing造成 premature过早 death死亡
as frequently经常 as in the zoo动物园,
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但我们有肥胖、糖尿病、
06:36
but we have major重大的 risk风险
of obesity肥胖, diabetes糖尿病,
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和其他类似疾病的高发病率。
06:40
a number of these other diseases疾病.
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不仅是在美国生活了好几代的人
06:43
And this applies适用 not just to people
who have been living活的 in the USA美国
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存在这样的问题,
06:47
for many许多 generations,
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而且新移民和难民也一样,
06:49
but also to immigrants移民 and refugees难民,
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多数移民
和难民群体抵达美国时,
06:52
who, for most immigrant移民
and refugee难民 groups,
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他们在新陈代谢方面很健康,
06:55
arrive到达 in the USA美国 metabolically代谢 healthy健康,
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然后,在几年之内,
06:58
and then within a few少数 years年份,
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他们患上肥胖和糖尿病的风险
07:00
they become成为 just as high-risk高风险
for obesity肥胖 and diabetes糖尿病
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与美国人一样高。
07:03
as other Americans美国人.
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我们与两个
从东南亚迁来美国的团体
07:05
And we discussed讨论
this issue问题 with two groups
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07:09
that have been coming未来 to the USA美国
from Southeast东南 Asia亚洲:
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讨论过这个问题:
一个是洪族人,因越南战争
和老挝美国秘密战争,
07:12
the Hmong苗族, who started开始 coming未来
in the mid-中-1970s
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从 20 世纪 70 年代中叶开始,
他们以难民身份来到美国;
07:16
as refugees难民 from the Vietnam越南 War战争
and the US secret秘密 war战争 in Laos老挝;
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另一个是凯伦人,
最近才从缅甸来的难民。
07:21
and the Karen卡伦, who have been coming未来
more recently最近 as refugees难民 from Myanmar缅甸.
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我们已经与这些当地社区
07:26
So we've我们已经 been working加工 for a few少数 years年份
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和临床医生一起工作了几年,
07:28
with these local本地
communities社区 and clinicians临床医生
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研究洪族人和凯伦人
从泰国难民营和村庄来到美国后,
07:31
to study研究 what happens发生
to the Hmong苗族 and Karen卡伦 microbiomes微生物组
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他们体内的微生物群
会发生怎样的变化。
07:36
when people move移动 from refugee难民 camps营地
and villages村庄 in Thailand泰国 to the USA美国.
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07:44
And what we found发现
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我们发现,
当这些人来到美国后,
07:45
is that when people
come to the USA美国 from these groups,
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他们体内的微生物群
失去了很大一部分,
07:51
they lose失去 a large fraction分数
of their microbiome微生物,
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07:56
somewhere某处 around 20 percent百分,
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约 20%;
07:58
and those who come to the USA美国
and become成为 obese肥胖
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而那些来美国后
患肥胖症的人,
则失去了(原来)
微生物群的三分之一。
08:02
lose失去 about a third第三 of their microbes微生物.
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08:06
So we know that moving移动 to the USA美国
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因此,我们得出结论,
移居到美国生活后,会造成
体内微生物群发生巨大改变,
08:08
is sufficient足够 to cause原因
a dramatic戏剧性 change更改 in your microbiome微生物,
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很可能不是在变好。
08:12
probably大概 not for the better.
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08:15
Are these microbes微生物
actually其实 causing造成 the obesity肥胖,
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这些微生物群
真的会导致肥胖,
还是肥胖造成了
微生物群的改变?
08:20
or is the obesity肥胖 causing造成
a change更改 in the microbes微生物?
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这是我们正在跟进的事情,
08:23
This is something
that we're following以下 up on,
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我们实验室发现的证据,
08:26
and the evidence证据 we have now in my lab实验室
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以及来自世界各地一些实验室的
证据都告诉我们,
08:29
combined结合 with evidence证据
from a number of labs实验室 around the world世界
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微生物群的某些变化
08:32
tells告诉 us that certain某些 changes变化
in the microbiome微生物
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会导致肥胖、
08:36
do lead to obesity肥胖,
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以及其它一些现代病,
或者说西方病。
08:38
and a number of other modern现代,
kind of Westernized西化 diseases疾病.
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08:43
The good news新闻 is that
your microbiome微生物 can actually其实 change更改.
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好消息是,你体内的
微生物群是可以改变的。
和你的基因组不同的是,
08:48
Unlike不像 your own拥有 genome基因组,
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它(微生物群)是活生生、
会呼吸的东西。
08:51
it's a living活的, breathing呼吸 thing,
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(科学家们)正在进行
一项广泛的前沿研究,
08:53
and there's a broad广阔 front面前
of research研究 happening事件 right now
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以便更好地了解
当微生物群出现问题时,
08:57
to better understand理解
how we can restore恢复 our microbiomes微生物组
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09:00
when something goes wrong错误,
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如何通过饮食、
09:02
using运用 diet饮食,
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使用活的微生物,
09:04
using运用 live生活 microbes微生物.
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去恢复体内的微生物群。
09:06
And in fact事实, one of the next下一个 steps脚步 for us
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事实上, 我们下一步要做的是,
为那些(患病)的人群收集和保存
来自世界各地健康人士的微生物,
09:09
is collecting搜集 and preserving microbes微生物
from healthy健康 people around the world世界
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以便作为文化资产进行保存,
09:14
so that they can be kept不停
as cultural文化 assets资产 for those groups
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在他们适应现代社会时,
对之进行潜在保护;
09:19
to potentially可能 protect保护 them
as they adapt适应 to modern现代 society社会,
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保护正在成长、
09:24
and to protect保护 future未来 generations
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后代有较高风险
09:27
who are currently目前 growing生长 up
to have increased增加 risk风险 of these diseases疾病
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患西方病的这一代人,
09:31
with every一切 generation.
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09:33
I'm looking forward前锋 to a future未来
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未来,我期待,
会有我们需要的工具,以修复
和补充我们体内的微生物群,
09:36
where we have the tools工具 that we need
to restore恢复 and replenish补充 our microbiomes微生物组,
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09:43
and in that world世界, the monkeys猴子
will live生活 happier幸福 and healthier健康 lives生活,
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在未来世界里,不但猴子们
会过上更快乐、更健康的生活,
我们也会!
09:48
and so will we.
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09:51
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
Translated by Carol Wang
Reviewed by Homer Li

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dan Knights - Computational microbiologist
Dan Knights develops computational methods for doing precision medicine with gut bacterial communities, or microbiomes, and he applies those methods to study human disease.

Why you should listen

Trillions of bacteria live in our guts, protecting us from infection and aiding our digestion, yet these communities are so complex that we need advanced computational methods to study them. In his multidisciplinary research lab, Dan Knights combines expertise in data mining and biology to learn about how modern lifestyles and medical practices are affecting our microbiomes and leading to increases in modern diseases.

Knights received his PhD in computer science from the University of Colorado, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School. He has co-authored more than 70 highly cited articles in top multidisciplinary journals. In 2015 he was named a McKnight Land-Grant Professor by the University of Minnesota. His lab is building a next-generation informatics pipeline for microbiome-targeted drug discovery, linking nutrition and microbial activity to clinical outcomes.

More profile about the speaker
Dan Knights | Speaker | TED.com