About this Research Topic
All animals on Earth have evolved in an intimate relationship with thousands types of microbes and viruses. The development of more efficient techniques in microbiology has enabled the discovery of a variety of sizes, forms and behaviors of these biological entities. Today the field of animal-associated microbiology is at an exciting pinnacle with remarkable consequences for science and public health.
Birds (class Aves) have lived on Earth for at least 145 million years and during this time, they have diversified into many varieties, from hummingbirds to hoatzins to ostriches. They are an important part of humans’ diet while at the same time they can present a high risk of food poisoning. Some bird species are kept as pets, with owners having a close and constant contact with fecal matter potentially containing pathogens, others may contribute to the global transmission of microbes, a topic of particular relevance in today’s changing environment. Finally, birds represent an exciting frontier for animal-associated microbiology since their genotypic and phenotypic diversity offers a unique model for studying coevolution of the microbiomes associated with animals and other complex macroorganisms.
This Research Topic welcomes Reviews, Original Research and Perspectives dealing with the Avian Microbiome, with emphasis on those efforts that stretch the limits to fully unleash the potential and implications of studying the avian microbiome among microbiological sciences. We particularly welcome articles focusing on the following:
• The microbiome in domestic chickens and other species used as food source, particularly on host-associated traits affected or associated with microbes
• The microbiome associated with pet birds and its potential consequences to human and animal health
• The dispersal of microbes by birds (both locally and globally), particularly in a context of global warming and changes in seasonal migrations
• The role of microbes in shaping the birds’ anatomy, physiology, and behavior throughout evolutionary ages.
The Topic is open to studies of the microbiome in domestic chickens and other species used as food source, particularly those focusing on host-associated traits affected or associated with microbes. We welcome efforts in elucidating the microbiome associated with pet birds and the potential consequences of these microbiomes to human and animal health. We also welcome intriguing new findings about the dispersal of microbes by birds (both locally and globally), particularly in the context of global warming and changes in seasonal migrations. Finally, the Topic is open to all research teams studying how microbes have helped shape the birds’ anatomy, physiology, and behavior throughout evolutionary ages.
We believe that this Research Topic will help move the field of animal-associated microbiology forward as well as open up new scientific questions that can generate further research on this globally relevant subject.
Birds (class Aves) have lived on Earth for at least 145 million years and during this time, they have diversified into many varieties, from hummingbirds to hoatzins to ostriches. They are an important part of humans’ diet while at the same time they can present a high risk of food poisoning. Some bird species are kept as pets, with owners having a close and constant contact with fecal matter potentially containing pathogens, others may contribute to the global transmission of microbes, a topic of particular relevance in today’s changing environment. Finally, birds represent an exciting frontier for animal-associated microbiology since their genotypic and phenotypic diversity offers a unique model for studying coevolution of the microbiomes associated with animals and other complex macroorganisms.
This Research Topic welcomes Reviews, Original Research and Perspectives dealing with the Avian Microbiome, with emphasis on those efforts that stretch the limits to fully unleash the potential and implications of studying the avian microbiome among microbiological sciences. We particularly welcome articles focusing on the following:
• The microbiome in domestic chickens and other species used as food source, particularly on host-associated traits affected or associated with microbes
• The microbiome associated with pet birds and its potential consequences to human and animal health
• The dispersal of microbes by birds (both locally and globally), particularly in a context of global warming and changes in seasonal migrations
• The role of microbes in shaping the birds’ anatomy, physiology, and behavior throughout evolutionary ages.
The Topic is open to studies of the microbiome in domestic chickens and other species used as food source, particularly those focusing on host-associated traits affected or associated with microbes. We welcome efforts in elucidating the microbiome associated with pet birds and the potential consequences of these microbiomes to human and animal health. We also welcome intriguing new findings about the dispersal of microbes by birds (both locally and globally), particularly in the context of global warming and changes in seasonal migrations. Finally, the Topic is open to all research teams studying how microbes have helped shape the birds’ anatomy, physiology, and behavior throughout evolutionary ages.
We believe that this Research Topic will help move the field of animal-associated microbiology forward as well as open up new scientific questions that can generate further research on this globally relevant subject.
Keywords: avian microbiome
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
