Evolution of Microbiota-Host Associations: The Microbe's Perspective

Trends Microbiol. 2021 Mar 2:S0966-842X(21)00041-X. doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2021.02.005. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTMicrobiota-host associations are ubiquitous in nature. They are often studied using a host-centered view, while microbes are assumed to have coevolved with hosts or colonize hosts as nonadapted entities. Both assumptions are often incorrect. Instead, many host-associated microbes are adapted to a biphasic life cycle in which they alternate between noncoadapted hosts and a free-living phase. Full appreciation of microbiota-host symbiosis thus needs to consider how microbes optimize fitness across this life cycle. Here, we evaluate the key stages of the biphasic life cycle and propose a new conceptual framework for microbiota-host interactions which includes an integrative measure of microbial fitness, related to the parasite fitness parameter R0, and which will help in-depth assessment of the evolution of these widespread associations.PMID:33674142 | DOI:10.1016/j.tim.2021.02.005
Source: Trends in Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Source Type: research