Symbiotic, parasitic, and commensal relationships have precise definitions in biology, but often the nature of the relationship between two organisms is not clear-cut and fluctuates over time. This Microbiology Select highlights recent studies that demonstrate how communication between the host and its microbial inhabitants largely determines whether their interaction is beneficial, hurtful, or...

Probotics have been with us for as long as people have eaten fermented milks, but their association with health benefits dates only from the turn of the century when Metchnikoff drew attention to the adverse effects of the gut microflora on the host and suggested that ingestion of fermented milks ameliorated this so called autointoxication. Later work, based on the assumption that colonisation ...

The human intestine has evolved in the presence of diverse enteric microflora. TLRs convert the recognition of pathogen-associated molecules in the gut into signals for anti-microbial peptide expression, barrier fortification, and proliferation of epithelial cells. Healing of injured intestinal epithelium and clearance of intramucosal bacteria require the presence of intact TLR signaling. Nucle...

The concept of metabolic regulations deals with the varied and innumerable pathways that are present in human body. A combination such reactions paves way for proper functioning different physiological biological functions. Dealing adversities a disease, engineering novel showcase potential its applications therapeutic treatment diseases. deeper understanding functions body can be known from gu...