Microorganisms play a significant role in the evolution and functioning of the eukaryotes with
which they interact. Much of our understanding of beneficial host–microbe interactions stems …

Current work in experimental biology revolves around a handful of animal species. Studying
only a few organisms limits science to the answers that those organisms can provide. Nature …

Many microorganisms with high prevalence in host populations are beneficial to the host
and maintained by specialized transmission mechanisms. Although microbial promotion of …

Symbioses between animals and microbes are ubiquitous, and often have drastic fitness
effects on both parties. A rapidly growing body of research now shows that many of these …

Animal defense strategies against microbes are most often thought of as a function of the
immune system, the primary function of which is to sense and kill microbes through the …

Although scientists have long appreciated that metazoans evolved in a microbial world, we
are just beginning to appreciate the profound impact that host-associated microbes have on …

Beneficial associations with bacteria are widespread across animals, spanning a range of
symbiont localizations, transmission routes, and functions. While some of these associations …

Our understanding of host-microbe interactions has broadened through numerous studies
over the past decades. However, most investigations primarily focus on the dominant …

Animals are symbiotic superorganisms, composed of eukaryotic cells and specific microbial
residents that perform essential functions for their host. As humans, we are beginning to …

Mutually beneficial interspecific interactions are abundant throughout the natural world,
including between microbes. Mutualisms between microbes are critical for everything from …