Population stratification is a useful approach towards a better understanding of complex biological problems in human health and well-being. The proposal that such stratification applies to the human gut microbiome, in the form of distinct community composition types, termed “enterotypes”, was met with both excitement and controversy. In view of accumulated data and re-analyses since the original work, we revisit the enterotype concept, discuss different methods of dividing up the landscape of possible microbiome configurations, and put these concepts into a functional, ecological and medical context. As enterotypes are of use in describing the gut microbial community landscape and may become relevant in clinical practice, we aim to reconcile differing views and encourage a balanced application of the concept.
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