Durack J, Christian LS, Nariya S, et al. - Researchers undertook this multicenter study to investigate sputum and oral microbiota links with clinical or immunologic characteristics in mild atopic asthma, as well as the influence on the microbiota of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) treatment given to ICS-naïve asthmatic individuals. This study included 32 people with mild atopic asthma who received treatment with inhaled fluticasone, 18 atopic non-asthmatic people, and 16 non-atopic healthy people. An inverse link of sputum bacterial burden with bronchial expression of type 2 (T2)-related genes was revealed. Findings highlighted new links of sputum and oral microbiota to immunologic characteristics in this cohort including people with or without ICS-naïve mild asthma. These revelations corroborate as well as extend experts' previous report of decreased bronchial bacterial burden as well as compositional complexity in T2-high asthma people, with additional recognition of a T2-low subgroup with a distinct microbiota-immunologic link.