We hope the papers published will serve to further highlight the microbial safety in foods and environments, as well as in stimulating further researches into the virulence features of microbes and development of diagnostic tools, thereby contributing to the improved patient treatment and microbial safety in sources of infection.
That raises the possibility of manipulating the mix of gut microbes early in development to reduce the risk.
Just as scientists are talking about the microbiome and the ways in which microbes effect human development, the same research is influencing how researchers think about plant development as well, Chung said.
Efforts to focus on unculturable microbes resulted in development of various "universal" primers that targeted ribosomal genes of diverse microbial taxa [50], [51], [52].
The availability of complete genome sequences of microbes and the development of functional genomics technologies have provided a wealth of data and opportunities to better understand stress adaptation mechanisms.
Given the selective pressures under which these microbes are placed, development of syntrophic and antagonistic relationships is not surprising.
Experiments with germ-free or antibiotic-treated animals have yielded conflicting evidence regarding a role for gut microbes in the development of obesity.
Macrophage gene expression at 6 weeks was evaluated in mice from a germ-free environment to understand the contribution of microbes to disease development.
The role of microbes in the development of some human cancers is being explored (Correa 2003; Hohenberger and Gretschel 2003; Parsonnet 1995).
Dysbiosis induced in the first periods of life can have the most relevant practical consequences because a decrease in the number of microbes and their substitution with other microbes dramatically modifies the development of the immune system as well as glucose and lipid metabolism.
