Now the public can order a microbiome profile on themselves through the internet. For fees ranging from $89 to $15,000, personalized cultures and genetic studies on the organisms that have taken up housekeeping on various body parts can be received by the inquiring public.

From the website of American Gut, which offers to detail the microbiome inside your body.

Currently there are two organizations that offer such a service: American Gut (a research project from the University of Colorado, Boulder) and uBiome (a San Francisco start-up company).

uBiome claims to be practicing "citizen science," which they claim is " scientific research conducted by non-professional scientists, often by crowd-sourcing. " For $399, they will microbiologically characterize your gut, skin, genitals, mouth, and nose. Their website is somewhat vague on how this will be done.

From the Facebook page of uBiome in San Francisco .

American Gut focuses on the oral and intestinal microbiome and claims to have analyzed samples from  over 7,000 participants. They have raised over $400,000 in donations.

Will "do it yourself" microbiology become as routine as ordering products from Amazon? Who is interpreting the results of these tests? What is the benefit of characterizing your personal microbiome? The answers may be forthcoming in the future. Regardless of the accuracy and benefit, one thing is certain: there is money to be made on the inquiring mind of John Q. Public.

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