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The evolution of the host microbiome as an ecosystem on a leash

Author

Listed:
  • Kevin R. Foster

    (University of Oxford)

  • Jonas Schluter

    (Computational Biology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center)

  • Katharine Z. Coyte

    (University of Oxford
    Computational Biology Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
    Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School)

  • Seth Rakoff-Nahoum

    (Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School)

Abstract

The human body carries vast communities of microbes that provide many benefits. Our microbiome is complex and challenging to understand, but evolutionary theory provides a universal framework with which to analyse its biology and health impacts. Here we argue that to understand a given microbiome feature, such as colonization resistance, host nutrition or immune development, we must consider how hosts and symbionts evolve. Symbionts commonly evolve to compete within the host ecosystem, while hosts evolve to keep the ecosystem on a leash. We suggest that the health benefits of the microbiome should be understood, and studied, as an interplay between microbial competition and host control.

Suggested Citation

  • Kevin R. Foster & Jonas Schluter & Katharine Z. Coyte & Seth Rakoff-Nahoum, 2017. "The evolution of the host microbiome as an ecosystem on a leash," Nature, Nature, vol. 548(7665), pages 43-51, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:548:y:2017:i:7665:d:10.1038_nature23292
    DOI: 10.1038/nature23292
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    Cited by:

    1. Aibo Gao & Junlei Su & Ruixin Liu & Shaoqian Zhao & Wen Li & Xiaoqiang Xu & Danjie Li & Juan Shi & Bin Gu & Juan Zhang & Qi Li & Xiaolin Wang & Yifei Zhang & Yu Xu & Jieli Lu & Guang Ning & Jie Hong &, 2021. "Sexual dimorphism in glucose metabolism is shaped by androgen-driven gut microbiome," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-14, December.
    2. C. E. Dubé & M. Ziegler & A. Mercière & E. Boissin & S. Planes & C. A. -F. Bourmaud & C. R. Voolstra, 2021. "Naturally occurring fire coral clones demonstrate a genetic and environmental basis of microbiome composition," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-12, December.
    3. Benjamin H. Good & Layton B. Rosenfeld, 2023. "Eco-evolutionary feedbacks in the human gut microbiome," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    4. Brennen T. Fagan & George W. A. Constable & Richard Law, 2024. "Maternal transmission as a microbial symbiont sieve, and the absence of lactation in male mammals," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    5. Connor Sharp & Kevin R. Foster, 2022. "Host control and the evolution of cooperation in host microbiomes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-15, December.
    6. Kyoichi Kodama & Mélanie K. Rich & Akiyoshi Yoda & Shota Shimazaki & Xiaonan Xie & Kohki Akiyama & Yohei Mizuno & Aino Komatsu & Yi Luo & Hidemasa Suzuki & Hiromu Kameoka & Cyril Libourel & Jean Kelle, 2022. "An ancestral function of strigolactones as symbiotic rhizosphere signals," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-15, December.
    7. Aming Li & Yang-Yu Liu, 2020. "Controlling Network Dynamics," Advances in Complex Systems (ACS), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 22(07n08), pages 1-19, February.
    8. K. E. Huus & T. T. Hoang & A. Creus-Cuadros & M. Cirstea & S. L. Vogt & K. Knuff-Janzen & P. J. Sansonetti & P. Vonaesch & B. B. Finlay, 2021. "Cross-feeding between intestinal pathobionts promotes their overgrowth during undernutrition," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-14, December.

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