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Genetic differences in the immune system shape the collections of bacteria that colonize the digestive system, according to new research by scientists at the University of Chicago.

In carefully controlled experiments using populated with microbes from conventionally raised mice, the researchers showed that while the makeup of the microbial input largely determined the resulting of the recipients, between strains of mice played a role as well.

“When the input is standardized, you can compare mice of different genetic strains and see what these genetics do to the microbiome in recipient mice,” said microbiome researcher Alexander Chervonsky, MD, Ph.D., a senior author of the new study, published in Cell Reports. “This approach allowed us to tell whether there was a genetic influence, and indeed there is. So, the next question was what mechanisms are involved?”

As investors await results from the first U.S. clinical trials of the gene-editing system known as Crispr, scientists are focused on finding ways to administer it directly into humans, according to the technology’s co-inventor, Jennifer Doudna.

Right now, in studies using Crispr that have treated patients, researchers have had to extract their cells to be able to make edits to faulty DNA before infusing them back into the body for treatment. Being able to do precise edits directly inside humans, animals or plants could open the door to new applications, Doudna said.