Temporal variability is a personalized feature of the human microbiome

Abstract

Longitudinal sampling of a relatively large number of individuals allowed us to observe high levels of temporal variability in both diversity and community structure in all body habitats studied. These findings suggest that temporal dynamics may need to be considered when attempting to link changes in microbiome structure to changes in health status. Furthermore, our findings show that, not only is the composition of an individual's microbiome highly personalized, but their degree of temporal variability is also a personalized feature.