Society of Fellows, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States.
Curr Opin Microbiol. 2019 Aug;50:20-27. doi: 10.1016/j.mib.2019.09.003. Epub 2019 Oct 6.
Trade-offs constrain evolution through genetic linkages and environmental limitations, impacting organismal physiology, morphology, and behavior. They are likely to also play a role in modulating functions of the microbiota, but previous research has not included tests of trade-off theory. Here, we review broadly how gut microbial functions are typically studied and outline evolutionarily-informed mechanisms to improve such research. These include measuring a diverse set of functions, with a focus on changes in host phenotype; more explicitly articulating the selective forces relevant to the microbiota; and using functionally relevant models. We present dietary intervention as a case study where trade-offs are likely to be relevant and discuss how the health effects of the modern human diet could be better understood in light of trade-offs. Appreciating microbial functional trade-offs as well as host trade-offs will be necessary to design effective interventions targeting the microbiota and, more generally, to understand the evolution of host-microbe interactions.
权衡限制通过遗传连锁和环境限制进化，影响生物的生理学、形态学和行为。它们也可能在调节微生物群的功能方面发挥作用，但之前的研究并没有包括对权衡理论的测试。在这里，我们广泛回顾了肠道微生物功能通常是如何研究的，并概述了进化信息机制来改进此类研究。这些机制包括测量一系列多样化的功能，重点关注宿主表型的变化；更明确地阐明与微生物群相关的选择压力；并使用功能相关的模型。我们提出饮食干预作为一个案例研究，其中权衡可能是相关的，并讨论在权衡的背景下，如何更好地理解现代人类饮食对健康的影响。理解微生物功能权衡以及宿主权衡将是设计针对微生物组的有效干预措施的必要条件，更广泛地说，也是理解宿主-微生物相互作用进化的必要条件。
