Profiling the Human gut Microbiota o Culture: the gold standard for identification of microbial species <30%of the gut microbiota has been cultured o Culture-independent techniques: offer a more representative snapshot' of the gut microbiota microbial diversity of the gut microbiota >Qualitative and quantitative information on bacterial species and their genetic capacity Changes in the gut microbiota in relation to perturbation or diseaseProfiling the Human Gut Microbiota  Culture: the gold standard for identification of microbial species  <30% of the gut microbiota has been cultured  Culture-independent techniques: offer a more representative ‘snapshot’ of the gut microbiota  Microbial diversity of the gut microbiota  Qualitative and quantitative information on bacterial species and their genetic capacity  Changes in the gut microbiota in relation to perturbation or disease