The trillions of microbes that live in the human gut may play a bigger role in health than previously thought, according to a new research by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
The trillions of microbes that live in the human gut may play a bigger role in health than previously thought, according to a new research by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. The article, published in September 2025 in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, explores how gut bacteria interact with human genes in ways that could shape disease risk, aging and even future medical treatments.
The review highlights how the gut microbiome (the collection of bacteria, viruses and fungi that live in the digestive system) can affect epigenetics, the process that turns genes on or off without changing the DNA itself. These changes happen through chemical tags such as DNA or RNA methylation, which control when and how genes are expressed.
“By understanding how gut microbes influence our genes, we can begin to imagine new ways to prevent disease and promote health in a way that gets us closer to personalized medicine,” said Alika K. Maunakea, a co-author of the study and professor at the UH Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine.
Read more at: University of Hawaii
Professor Alika Maunakea and research faculty Riley Wells (Photo: University of Hawaii)
