Getting a Better Understanding of Host and Microbiome Associations using Multi-omics Approaches such as Metabolomics and Microbiome Sequencing

Over the last decade, and especially following the Human Microbiome Project (HMP), there has been a steadily increasing interest in the microbiome's role in host health and disease homeostasis. We have begun to understand microbial communities that occupy different ecological niches in mammalian hosts. Areas of intense focus have been the gut, skin and oral microbiomes, as they play a vital role in controlling stasis. There still exists a wide gap in our understanding of the microbiome imbalance/dysbiosis in different ecological niches and its ultimate cause. In this Research Topic, we will collect cutting-edge research articles to address this gap to deepen our understanding of host and microbiome associations and the microbiome and chemistry interplay in health and disease states.

There are trillions of microbes that occupy various niches in and on mammalian hosts we call microbiomes. Microbiomes consist of complex communities of bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites that are tightly regulated by the immune system of the host. These communities remain in a delicate balance. In addition to the complexity of the genetic variation of microorganisms, there is also an intricate interplay between all parties manifested by small molecules as a chemical language between them. When balance is disturbed by outside factors, for example, antibiotics, the stasis can often be disturbed and opportunistic pathogens can take over: this is often called dysbiosis. Dysbiosis and its regulation as a part of host and microbe associations are poorly understood. Generally, all domains of chemistry from DNA to small molecules have to be looked at in order to understand associations. This is what we call multi-omics approaches. There have been massive advancements in recent years in the development of tools and workflows of multi-omics analysis. In this Research Topic, we would like to address some of the host and microbe associations (e.g. dysbiosis) using cutting-edge multi-omics research such as microbiome sequencing and metabolomics.

We are looking for manuscripts addressing host and microbe associations using various -omics and multi-omics approaches such as metabolomics, genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and a combination of thereof to understand:

- Microbiome and host interactions on the skin

- Microbiome and host interactions in the gut

- Microbiome and host interactions in the oral cavity

- Dysbiosis and its role in cancer development

- Paired metabolomics and microbiome sequencing to understand host and microbiome associations

- Non-targeted metabolomics exploration studies to define microbial dysbiosis

Topic Editor Jason Hawrelak is the founder of Probiotic Advisor. Topic Editor Alexey Melnik declares no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic.