Chapter 9 : Human-Animal Symbioses: The Microbiotas

Abstract:

A revolution is shaking the field of microbiology by revealing the unexpected concept that all forms of life rely on symbiosis with bacteria—or rather with microbial assemblies. These communities are constantly changing in composition and size and play numerous important roles in the physiology and pathology of organisms; in humans, they influence our lives from the earliest stages of embryonic development until our death.