# BodyMeta: A comprehensive database for microbes under various pathological and physiological conditions

**Authors:** Dong Zhang, Jiamin Hu, Bianli Gu, Bijin Cao, Jinghua Lu, Qiuyue Chen, Lulu Wang, Guangkun Pei, Ze-Xian Liu, Ming-Gang Cheng, Shegan Gao, Xiaoxing Li

PMC · DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2025.08.002 · Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal · 2025-08-05

## TL;DR

BodyMeta is a large database of microbes from different body sites under both healthy and disease conditions, helping researchers study how microbes affect human health.

## Contribution

BodyMeta expands gutMEGA by including 1261 studies categorized into physiological and pathological conditions across 31 body sites.

## Key findings

- BodyMeta includes 1261 studies categorized into 966 pathological and 879 physiological conditions.
- The database contains 59010 microbial taxa from literature and 40657 from raw datasets mapped to NCBI Taxonomy.
- It provides annotated microbial contents, diversities, biomarkers, and functional differences from 16S amplicon sequencing data.

## Abstract

Microorganisms residing in the gut and other anatomical sites exhibit substantial alterations under both physiological and pathological conditions, which are intricately linked to human health. Consequently, the establishment of a comprehensive metagenomic database encompassing diverse body sites under both pathological and physiological conditions is highly important. In this study, we developed BodyMeta (Body Metagenome Database), an upgraded version of the gutMEGA (gut Metagenome Atlas database), and we expanded the included studies considerably from 182 to 1261. These studies were classified into two categories: 600 literature-based studies without raw data (comprising 107 whole-genome sequencing and 493 16S amplicon sequencing studies) and 661 studies containing 663 raw datasets. We systematically categorized 1842 conditions derived from the 1261 studies into 966 pathological and 879 physiological conditions spanning 31 body sites, with the pathological conditions organized according to MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) terms. We comprehensively annotated the microbial contents, diversities, biomarkers and functional differences of the curated raw 16S amplicon sequencing data. In total, 59010 microbial taxa from literature sources and 40657 from raw datasets were mapped to the NCBI Taxonomy database. Additionally, related information about literature and experiments were compiled within BodyMeta. Collectively, the BodyMeta database provides a comprehensive resource for metagenomic investigations related to both physiological and pathological conditions, which can be freely accessed at https://bodymeta.omicsbio.info/.

●BodyMeta is an update of gutMEGA, expanding the number of included studies from 182 to 1261.●All included studies were systematically categorized into pathological and physiological conditions, with pathological conditions organized according to MeSH.●We comprehensively annotated the microbial contents, diversities, biomarkers and functional differences of the curated raw 16S amplicon sequencing data.●All included microbes included in the database were mapped to the NCBI Taxonomy database.

BodyMeta is an update of gutMEGA, expanding the number of included studies from 182 to 1261.

All included studies were systematically categorized into pathological and physiological conditions, with pathological conditions organized according to MeSH.

We comprehensively annotated the microbial contents, diversities, biomarkers and functional differences of the curated raw 16S amplicon sequencing data.

All included microbes included in the database were mapped to the NCBI Taxonomy database.

## Full-text entities

- **Species:** Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606]

## Full text

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## Figures

5 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12799941/full.md

## References

40 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12799941/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12799941