The gastrointestinal ecosystem is formed from interactions between the host, indigenous gut
microbiota, and external world. When colonizing the gut, bacteria must overcome barriers …

Microbiologists often evaluate microbial community dynamics by formulating functional
hypotheses based on ecological processes. Indeed, many of the methods and terms …

The study of human commensal bacteria began with the first observation of prokaryotes>
340 years ago. Since then, the study of human-associated microbes has been justifiably …

Highlights•Intestinal microbiota has profound effects on human physiology and the immune
system.•We need more time course studies on microbiota in prospective cohorts.•The small …

Biologists have taken the concept of organism largely for granted. However, advances in the
study of chimerism, symbiosis, bacterial-eukaryote associations, and microbial behavior …

Understanding how microorganism-microorganism interactions shape microbial
assemblages is a key to deciphering the evolution of dependencies and co-existence in …

Microbes collectively shape their environment in remarkable ways via the products of their
metabolism. The diverse environmental impacts of macro-organisms have been collated …

Researchers have come a long way in microorganism research since the first discovery of
microbes as seen through an ingenious hand-held microscope over 300 years ago. In late …

One of the most exciting scientific advances in recent years has been the realization that
commensal microorganisms are not simple'passengers' in our bodies, but instead have key …

In the last decade, we have witnessed a major paradigm shift in the life sciences: the
recognition that the microbiome, ie the set of microorganisms associated with healthy …