This document discusses research on intestinal microflora being conducted in Korea. It describes several research groups and projects investigating the roles of intestinal microflora in drug metabolism, food digestion, and human health. The goals are to better understand how microflora influence toxicity and to characterize differences in Korean microflora related to factors like diet. There is also a focus on developing diagnostic tools and establishing a Korean intestinal microflora database. The research aims to improve safety evaluation of drug metabolites and enable personalized medicine based on individual microfloral profiles.

1. Dr. Eun Jung KIM
NIFDS, KFDA, KOREA

2.  Current trends in researches of intestinal microflora
 What is interest in intestinal microflora research?
 Introduction of Fundamental Study of Drug Metabolism
Research Group in NIFDS
 Current Achievements
 Future Prospectives

4.  Research program
◦ food safety, food biosecurity, and methods development
◦ antimicrobial resistance in foodborne and commensal bacteria
◦ intestinal microflora and host interactions
◦ environmental biotechnology
◦ microbiological surveillance and diagnostic support of research
 Ongoing research projects involved in intestinal microflora
◦ evaluation of the mechanisms of inactivation and degradation of third-ge
neration cephalosporins by the bovine intestinal microflora
◦ impact of antimicrobial residues on the human gastrointestinal tract Micr
obiota

5.  Unit for Ecology and Physiology of the Digestive Tract
(UEPSD)
• Researches on the roles of microflora on food
transformation in intestine
• Analysis of microfloral enzymes related to metabolism and
digestion of food
• Functional genomic- and metagenomic researches on
intestinal microflora

6.  Department of gastro-intestinal microbiology
 Field of research
 To elucidate the influence of gastrointestin
al microbiota on human health.
 Goal
 To characterize microorganisms of the
gastrointestinal tract
 To demonstrate their physiological and
pathophysiological roles

7.  “The second Human Genome Project”
◦ USA : Human Microbiome Project
◦ EU : MetaHIT
◦ France : MicroObes
◦ Austria : Australian Urogenital Microbiome Consrotium
◦ Canada : Canadian Microbiome Initiative
◦ China : Meta-GUT
◦ Japan : Human Metagenome Contium
◦ Singapore : Human Gastric Microbiome
◦ International : International Human Microbiome Project

8.  Goal
◦ To work under a common set of principles and policies to study and understand
the role of the human microbiome health and causation of disease
◦ To use that knowledge to improve the ability to prevent and treat disease
 Full Members
◦ Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Canada)
◦ European Commission (Europe)
◦ Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (France)
◦ Japan Science & Technology Agency, JST (Japan)
◦ National Institutes of Health (United States of America)
◦ Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (Australia)
◦ Medical Research Council (Gambia)

10. Host Influences in Gut Microbial
Ecology
• Age
• Diet, Drugs
• Environmental
• Genetics
• Defense mechanism
• Stress responses

12. What is interest in intestinal microflora research?
 Intestinal microflora as a new biological resource for future
• Only 1 % of intestinal microflora were currently identified, whereas the rest
99% were not yet identified
• Intestinal microflora have great value as resources for biotech industries
 To Promote domestic researches on intestinal microflora
• Organize a nation-wide research consortium for intenstinal microflora to
promote a international collaboration such as human microbiome
 Importance of researches on Korean specific intestinal microflora
• Diversity of intestinal microflora- highly depending on age, diet, health and
environment conditions
• Korean has highly different dietary habit and life styles - high expectation for
microflora difference

14. Synopsis of the Research Group
 Program : Research group for Fundamental Study of Drug
• Total Budget : 2.5 billion won ( ~2 million US $)
• Duration : 3 years (2009~11)
• Principal Investigator of the Program : Professor Dong Hyun KIM
(KyungHee Univ.)
• Program Organizer : Dr. Eun Jung KIM
(Pharmacology Research Division, NIFDS)
• Chairman of Program Advisory Committee : Professor Eungchil CHOI
(Seoul National Univ.)

15. Advisiory Research Group for Fundamental Program
Committee study of drug metabolism Organizer
Program 1 Program 2 Program 3
Development of toxicological assays using Researches on metabolic activity of intestinal Identification and analysis of Korean
intestinal microflora microflora specific intestinal microflora
Research project 1-1 Research project 2-1 Research project 3-1
Development of metabolite toxicity Identification of metaboites and their toxic Standardization for Korean specific
testing by using intestinal microflora metabolism pathways by intestinal intestinal microflora through isolation
cultures microflora and identification of anaerobic bacteria
Research project 1-2 Research project 2-2 Research project 3-2
Development of fecalase usable for Study of metabolic activity analysis of Deveopment of advanced thechnology
evaluation of toxicity induced by drugs by Korea intestinal microflora for quick detection and quantification of
intestinal microflora gut microflora
Research project 1-3 Research project 2-3 Research project 3-3
Development of in vivo toxicity testing Investigation of database involved in Inspection of Korean intestinal microflora
methods using intestinal microflora intestinal microflora diversity according to age, diet and
obesity

16. 4/12/2011

17.  Recognized as one of most expected and outstanding future
technologies in 2010 by KISTEP and MEST
 Research Publications : Bacteroides faecis sp. nov., isolated
from human faeces and so on.
 Research communications : Korean Society of Pharmacology
and so on

18.  International symposium
(Oct 2009)
 Colloquium between US-FDA and
KFDA (Oct 2009)

19. Public communication by Mass Media
- antibiotics and drug absorption
• March 2010

20. Public communication by Mass Media
- Newly identified intestinal microbes from Korean
• May 2010

21. • Aug 2010

22. Future Prospectives
 Construction of Korean Intestinal microbes Database
 Providing information of Korean intestinal microbes to the public
 Development of Metagenomic Chip for identification of intestinal microbes
 Establishment of Korean standard fecalase and developing assay methods
 Safety evaluation of drug metabolites by intestinal microflora
• Screening of drugs susceptible to intestinal microflora metabolism
 Promotion of personalized medicine based on individual intestinal
microflora
• Application of individual or ethnic difference of microflora to find
adequate dose of drugs