The interaction between the gut microbiota and the host immune system is very important for balancing and resolving inflammation. The human microbiota begins to form during childbirth; the complex interaction between bacteria and host cells becomes critical for the formation of a healthy or a disease-promoting microbiota. C-section delivery, formula feeding, a high-sugar diet, a high-fat diet a...

Aquatic organisms are increasingly exposed to lowering of environmental pH due to anthropogenic pressure (e.g. acid rain, acid mine drainages). Such acute variations trigger imbalance of fish-associated microbiota, which in turn favour opportunistic diseases. We used the tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum), an Amazonian fish tolerant to significant pH variation in its natural environment, to assess...

Gut microbiota regulates intestinal and extraintestinal homeostasis. Accumulating evidence suggests that the gut microbiota may also regulate brain function and behavior. Results from animal models indicate that disturbances in the composition and functionality of some microbiota members are associated with neurophysiological disorders, strengthening the idea of a microbiota-gut-brain axis and ...

The formation and regulation of vertebrate endogenous intestinal microbiota has been widely studied as the microbiota plays a crucial role in the host nutrition, development, and health. Despite the importance of microbiota for host health, it is still unclear whether the endogenous intestinal microorganisms are genetically distinct or whether they are genetically related with each other in dif...

BACKGROUND Holobionts have a digestive microbiota with catabolic abilities allowing the degradation of complex dietary compounds for the host. In terrestrial herbivores, the digestive microbiota is known to degrade complex polysaccharides from land plants while in marine herbivores, the digestive microbiota is poorly characterized. Most of the latter are generalists and consume red, green, and ...

The gut microbes, collectively called microbiota, are linked to the brain through a bidirectional system that involves the vagus nerve, the immune system, and various neurotransmitters. Stress response, memory functions, social behavior, and mood are modulated by microbiota. Furthermore, microbiota play a role in the development of the central nervous system. These features, established largely...

OBJECTIVE The gut microbiota has been implicated as an environmental factor that modulates obesity, and recent evidence suggests that microbiota-mediated changes in bile acid profiles and signalling through the bile acid nuclear receptor farnesoid X receptor (FXR) contribute to impaired host metabolism. Here we investigated if the gut microbiota modulates obesity and associated phenotypes throu...

Adaptation of the whole microbial normal flora residing in a host to its natural habitat over an evolutionary peroid has resulted in peaceful coexistence with mutual benefits for both microbiota and host in steady state. This symbiotic relationship between host and microbiota has a significant impact on shaping the immune response in the host to achieve an immune tolerance to microbiota but ret...

BACKGROUND Humans host individually unique skin microbiota, suggesting that microbiota traces transferred from skin to surfaces could serve as forensic markers analogous to fingerprints. While it is known that individuals leave identifiable microbiota traces on surfaces, it is not clear for how long these traces persist. Moreover, as skin and surface microbiota change with time, even persistent...

Laboratory rats are commonly used in life science research as a model for human biology and disease, but the composition and development of their gut microbiota during life is poorly understood. We determined the fecal microbiota composition of healthy Sprague Dawley laboratory rats from 3 weeks to 2 y of age, kept under controlled environmental and dietary conditions. Additionally, we determin...