PENZBERG, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The diversity of species in the intestinal flora is imperative for the maintenance of our health. Any instability can lead to the development of various intestinal diseases such as antibiotic-associated intestinal inflammations like e.g., Morbus Crohn or Colitis Ulcerosa. According to the latest discoveries, disturbances in the metabolism such as obesity are also greatly influenced. A new research study by the University of Graz, Austria, now was set up to characterize the protective composition of the intestinal flora, by means of next generation sequencing with the Genome Sequencer FLX System of Roche. The clostridium difficile infection will serve as a model for the research study. It occurs mainly in individuals who were treated with antibiotics, the illness leads to a severe infection of the large intestine accompanied by extreme diarrhea. The illness has evolved into a problem with increasing infection rates resulting in fatalities. The study is designed to help increase scientific knowledge about these relationships.
