Dethlefsen Les, McFall-Ngai Margaret, Relman David A
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
Nature. 2007 Oct 18;449(7164):811-8. doi: 10.1038/nature06245.
The microbial communities of humans are characteristic and complex mixtures of microorganisms that have co-evolved with their human hosts. The species that make up these communities vary between hosts as a result of restricted migration of microorganisms between hosts and strong ecological interactions within hosts, as well as host variability in terms of diet, genotype and colonization history. The shared evolutionary fate of humans and their symbiotic bacteria has selected for mutualistic interactions that are essential for human health, and ecological or genetic changes that uncouple this shared fate can result in disease. In this way, looking to ecological and evolutionary principles might provide new strategies for restoring and maintaining human health.
人类的微生物群落是与人类宿主共同进化的具有独特性和复杂性的微生物混合体。由于微生物在宿主间的迁移受限、宿主体内强烈的生态相互作用,以及宿主在饮食、基因型和定植历史方面的变异性,构成这些群落的物种在不同宿主之间存在差异。人类与其共生细菌的共同进化命运选择了对人类健康至关重要的互利共生相互作用,而破坏这种共同命运的生态或基因变化可能导致疾病。通过这种方式,借鉴生态和进化原理可能会为恢复和维持人类健康提供新策略。