mSphere of Influence: Drivers of Host-Associated Microbial Community Structure and Change

Vanessa L. Hale studies the role of the microbiome in disease susceptibility in animal and human health. In this mSphere of Influence article, she reflects on how the papers “Evolution of mammals and their gut microbes” (R. E. Ley, M. Hamady, C. Lozupone, P. J. Turnbaugh, et al., Science 320:1647–1651, 2008, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1155725) and “A dietary fiber-deprived gut microbiota degrades the colonic mucus barrier and enhances pathogen susceptibility” (M. S. Desai, A. M. Seekatz, N. M. Koropatkin, N. Kamada, et al., Cell 167:1339–1353.e21, 2016, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2016.10.043) have provided a foundation for studying drivers of gut microbial structure and change across host species in the context of evolution and disease risk.