Life · 5 authors, 3 centres
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This narrative review synthesizes existing literature on yeasts that inhabit the human body across intestinal, vaginal, oral, and cutaneous niches and the diseases that arise when the microbiota becomes unstable. The central conclusion is that fungal communities play an increasingly evident role in human health, though more research is needed.
This narrative review searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Scielo for literature on the human mycobiome, focusing on intestinal, vaginal, oral, and cutaneous niches. Inclusion criteria were Portuguese or English language articles from the preceding 5 years. The review found that while fungi are much less abundant than bacteria, genera such as Candida, Malassezia, Rhodotorula, and Cryptococcus inhabit multiple body niches and can cause opportunistic disease when the microbiota becomes unstable. In irritable bowel syndrome, studies found increased prevalence of Candida spp., Malassezia spp., Cladosporium spp., and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, with decreased abundance of Mycosphaerella, Aspergillus, Sporidiobolus, and Pandora. The authors conclude that incorporating fungi into microbiome studies is crucial for understanding their role in homeostasis and human health.
