PUBLICATION
Patterns and scales in gastrointestinal microbial ecology
- Authors
- Camp, J.G., Kanther, M., Semova, I., and Rawls, J.F.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-090601-3
- Date
- 2009
- Source
- Gastroenterology 136(6): 1989-2002 (Review)
- Registered Authors
- Camp, Gray, Kanther, Michelle, Rawls, John F., Semova, Ivana
- Keywords
- none
- MeSH Terms
-
- Animals
- Bacteria*/genetics
- Bacteria*/isolation & purification
- Bacteria*/pathogenicity
- Gastrointestinal Tract/microbiology*
- Humans
- Intestinal Mucosa/microbiology
- RNA, Bacterial/genetics
- PubMed
- 19457423 Full text @ Gastroenterology
Citation
Camp, J.G., Kanther, M., Semova, I., and Rawls, J.F. (2009) Patterns and scales in gastrointestinal microbial ecology. Gastroenterology. 136(6):1989-2002.
Abstract
The body surfaces of humans and other animals are colonized at birth by microorganisms. The majority of microbial residents on the human body exist within gastrointestinal (GI) tract communities, where they contribute to many aspects of host biology and pathobiology. Recent technological advances have expanded our ability to perceive the membership and physiologic traits of microbial communities along the GI tract. To translate this information into a mechanistic and practical understanding of host-microbe and microbe-microbe relationships, it is necessary to recast our conceptualization of the GI tract and its resident microbial communities in ecological terms. This review depicts GI microbial ecology in the context of 2 fundamental ecological concepts: (1) the patterns of biodiversity within the GI tract and (2) the scales of time, space, and environment within which we perceive those patterns. We show how this conceptual framework can be used to integrate our existing knowledge and identify important open questions in GI microbial ecology.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping