Abstract
In the last decade, we have witnessed a major paradigm shift in the life sciences: the recognition that the microbiome, i.e. the set of microorganisms associated with healthy animals (including humans) and plants, plays a crucial role in the sustained health and fitness of its host. Enabled by rapid advances in sequencing technologies and analytical methods, substantial advances have been achieved in both identifying the microbial taxa and understanding the relationship between microbiome composition and host phenotype. These breakthroughs are leading to novel strategies for improved human and animal health, enhanced crop yield and nutritional quality, and the control of various pests and disease agents. This article is part of the theme issue 'The role of the microbiome in host evolution'.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 20190588 |
| Journal | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
| Volume | 375 |
| Issue number | 1808 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 28 Sep 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Data accessibility. This article has no additional data. Authors’ contributions. The authors contributed equally to this article. Competing interests. We declare that we have no competing interests. Funding. O.K. is partially funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, GBMF9341, https://doi.org/10.37807/GBMF9341.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Author(s).
Keywords
- beneficial microbes
- coevolution
- commensals
- eco-evolutionary dynamics
