Title: Archaea and Their Potential Role in Human Disease | Infection and Immunity
Headings: Archaea and Their Potential Role in Human Disease
Archaea and Their Potential Role in Human Disease
POTENTIAL PATHOGENICITY OF ARCHAEA
POTENTIAL ASSOCIATIONS OF ARCHAEA WITH HUMAN DISEASE
CONCLUSION AND FUTURE STUDIES
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
REFERENCES
KEYWORDS

Content: The existence of such anaerobic protists containing archaeal species in the human intestinal flora has not been described to date. In addition to the strict anaerobic conditions required for methanogen survival in the human colon, adaptation to the specific local nutrient environment must take place if methanogens are to compete with other members of the microflora. Syntrophy between archaea and sulfate-reducing bacteria has been described at the sulfate-methane interface in the sea floor and in methane-rich sediments ( 4, 11, 42 ). Syntrophy is a situation in which two or more organisms cooperate in the consumption of a substance (e.g., methane) not capable of being catabolized by either alone ( 33 ). It has been postulated that syntrophy occurs in the anaerobic microbial community of deep periodontal pockets, where methanogens consume H 2 produced by secondary fermentors, and contributes to periodontal disease ( 7 ). It is possible that this energy-efficient metabolic process exists in other anaerobic communities within the human host as well. In a different setting, a relative lack of methane oxidizers compared with the number of sulfate-reducing bacteria in human intestinal microflora, with a resultant increase in local hydrogen sulfide, may contribute to human disease. For examp