Owing to the fact that there are more microbial than human cells in our body and that humans contain more microbial than human genes, the microbiome has huge potential to influence human physiology, both in health and in disease. The use of next-generation sequencing technologies has helped to elucidate functional, quantitative and mechanistic aspects of the complex microorganism-host interactions that underlie human physiology and pathophysiology. The microbiome of semen is a field of increasing scientific interest, although this microbial niche is currently understudied compared with other areas of microbiome research. However, emerging evidence is beginning to indicate that the seminal microbiome has important implications for the reproductive health of men, the health of the couple and even the health of offspring, owing to transfer of microorganisms to the partner and offspring. As this field expands, further carefully designed and well-powered studies are required to unravel the true nature and role of the seminal microbiome.

中文翻译：

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健康和疾病中的重要微生物组。

由于我们体内的微生物比人类细胞多，而且人类含有的微生物比人类基因多，因此微生物组在健康和疾病方面具有影响人类生理的巨大潜力。下一代测序技术的使用有助于阐明构成人类生理学和病理生理学基础的复杂微生物-宿主相互作用的功能、定量和机制方面。精液的微生物组是一个越来越受到科学关注的领域，尽管与微生物组研究的其他领域相比，目前对这种微生物生态位的研究不足。然而，新出现的证据开始表明，精液微生物组对男性的生殖健康、夫妻的健康甚至后代的健康具有重要意义，由于微生物转移到伴侣和后代。随着该领域的扩展，需要进一步精心设计和强大的研究来揭示精液微生物组的真实性质和作用。