Microbes involved in asthma are different depending on the environment

Dr. Brett Finlay and his collaborators showed that early life microbes related to asthma in Ecuadorian children are different than those found in Canadian children. Finlay and his colleagues found that while four gut bacteria play a role in preventing asthma in Canadian children, it was the presence of a microscopic yeast known as Pichia that was more strongly linked to asthma in Ecuadorian children. This research was presented at the 2017 annual meeting for Association for the Advancement of Science.