About this Research Topic
The microbiota of animal hosts consists of a wide variety of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa present on the skin, gut and other mucosal surfaces of the body. In the last decades, the advancement of DNA sequencing technologies and bioinformatics pipelines enabled a deeper study of taxonomic and functional traits of microbial communities. This “omics revolution” has boosted the interest in the mechanisms by which the microbiome impacts host physiology and resistance to metabolic and infectious diseases. Nevertheless, these analyses have mostly focused on the human microbiome, whereas the situation in animals remains comparatively less studied.
There’s consensus that host microbiota mostly benefits host health and prevents diseases, whereas alterations in animal health are often associated with dysbiosis of host microbiota. Moreover, specific shifts in the composition of the host microbiome can facilitate infections, enhance the virulence of invading pathogens, and exacerbate disease severity.
Understanding microbial factors associated with the dynamic of infectious or metabolic diseases could be useful to develop prevention and control strategies. Furthermore, recent studies have demonstrated that microbiome manipulations (e.g., using probiotics or fiber-rich foods) can lead to improvements in animal performance. Other experimental studies indicate that it is possible to reduce the vectorial capacity of ticks and other vectors by disturbing the vector microbiota (e.g., inducing antibodies response against the vector microbiota). These findings reinforce the need to continue studying the host and vector microbiota and their interactions, improving the analytical approaches used in microbiome analysis, and developing microbe-based technologies for animal health and production. The main goal of this Research Topic is to gather selected scientific publications addressing the host-microbiota-pathogen interactions and the resulting implications for health or disease.
Potential themes to be covered include, but are not limited to:
- Influence of pathogen infection and animal disease in host microbiota
- Influence of microbiota on animal performance and health
- Response of the host microbiota to invading pathogens
- Associations between vector microbiota and vector-capacity to vector-borne pathogens
- New approaches in the analysis of the host-microbiota-pathogen interactions
- Manipulation of host or vector microbiota to prevent animal diseases and pathogen transmission
- Microbe-based therapies for the treatment of animal diseases
There’s consensus that host microbiota mostly benefits host health and prevents diseases, whereas alterations in animal health are often associated with dysbiosis of host microbiota. Moreover, specific shifts in the composition of the host microbiome can facilitate infections, enhance the virulence of invading pathogens, and exacerbate disease severity.
Understanding microbial factors associated with the dynamic of infectious or metabolic diseases could be useful to develop prevention and control strategies. Furthermore, recent studies have demonstrated that microbiome manipulations (e.g., using probiotics or fiber-rich foods) can lead to improvements in animal performance. Other experimental studies indicate that it is possible to reduce the vectorial capacity of ticks and other vectors by disturbing the vector microbiota (e.g., inducing antibodies response against the vector microbiota). These findings reinforce the need to continue studying the host and vector microbiota and their interactions, improving the analytical approaches used in microbiome analysis, and developing microbe-based technologies for animal health and production. The main goal of this Research Topic is to gather selected scientific publications addressing the host-microbiota-pathogen interactions and the resulting implications for health or disease.
Potential themes to be covered include, but are not limited to:
- Influence of pathogen infection and animal disease in host microbiota
- Influence of microbiota on animal performance and health
- Response of the host microbiota to invading pathogens
- Associations between vector microbiota and vector-capacity to vector-borne pathogens
- New approaches in the analysis of the host-microbiota-pathogen interactions
- Manipulation of host or vector microbiota to prevent animal diseases and pathogen transmission
- Microbe-based therapies for the treatment of animal diseases
Keywords: microbiome, disturbance, vector, pathogen, disease, host health
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.
