The human meta-organism consists of more than 90% of microbial cells. The gastrointestinal tract harbors trillions of commensal microorganisms that influence the development and homeostasis of the host. Alterations in composition and function of the microbiota, termed dysbiosis, have been implicated in a multitude of metabolic and inflammatory diseases in humans. Thus, understanding the molecul...

Interactions between commensals and the host impact the metabolic and immune status of metazoans. Their deregulation is associated with age-related pathologies like chronic inflammation and cancer, especially in barrier epithelia. Maintaining a healthy commensal population by preserving innate immune homeostasis in such epithelia thus promises to promote health and longevity. Here, we show that...

BACKGROUND Dysbiosis is linked to the cause of several human diseases, many of which having an immunity related component. This work investigated whether mice genetically selected for low or high antibody production display differences in intestinal bacterial communities, and consisted in the comparison of fecal 16SV6-V8 rDNA PCR amplicons resolved by temperature gradient gel electrophoresis (T...

Chronic inflammation represents one of the most consistent biologic features of aging. However, the precise etiology of persistent low-grade increases in inflammation remains unclear. Recent evidence suggests that the gut microbiome may play a key role in age-related inflammation. Indeed, several studies have indicated that older adults display an altered composition of the gut microbiota, and ...

Studies of the genetics underlying inflammatory bowel diseases have increased our understanding of the pathways involved in both ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease and focused attention on the role of the microbiome in these diseases. Full understanding of pathogenesis will require a comprehensive grasp of the delicate homeostasis between gut bacteria and the human host. In this review, we ...

Age is associated with increased susceptibility to enteric infections, but the molecular mechanisms are unclear. We find that aged Drosophila are more susceptible to enteric viral infections and that this increase in susceptibility is due to the aged microbiota, since depletion of the microbiota or reconstitution with a young microbiome suppressed infection. Metagenomic analysis of the aged mic...