Microbiology and the Microbiome in Bronchiectasis

The microbiology in bronchiectasis has been historically defined by culture-based analysis of the airway microbiome and to date has largely focused on the detection and eradication of specific bacterial pathogens. Although central to our current understanding of disease, microbial culture alone masks the holistic complexity of the microbiome and does not account for potential microbial interactions that define specific clinical phenotypes such as frequent exacerbators. Advances in next-generation sequencing including their analytical technologies can further complement and build upon our current understanding of the microbiology and microbiome in bronchiectasis providing improved patient stratification with prognostic significance.