Publication: Lessons from Insect Symbioses

October 20th, 2011

Douglas AE, 2011. Lessons from studying insect symbioses. Cell Host Microbe 10: 359-367. Pubmed link

Cell Host Microbe publishes an annual section on a topical issue, and this year chose Endogenous Microbes in Host Health and Disease.  Quoting the opening paragraph of the editorial introducing the section: "It has long been recognized that microbes of all kinds abound—living around us, on us, within us, and even being a part of our DNA. Understandably, however, most research has focused on microbes that cause obvious disease. Also, endogenous microbes were seldom considered as an influencing factor when investigating disease mechanisms. All this has been rapidly changing, and a new-found interest in and a respect for the multitude of endogenous microbes that inhabit our bodies and influence us in various ways have been emerging ...... endogenous microbes constitute a pivotal hub that regulates various aspects of host physiology."

In the article "Lessons from Insect Symbioses", Angela argues that, as in mammals, insect health is strongly influenced by the composition and activities of resident microorganisms. However, the microbiota of insects is generally less diverse than that of mammals, allowing microbial function in insects to be coupled to individual, identified microbial species. This trait of insect symbioses facilitates our understanding of the mechanisms that promote insect-microbial coexistence and the processes by which the microbiota affect insect well-being. As a result, insects are potentially ideal models to study various aspects of interactions between the host and its resident microorganisms that would be impractical or unfeasible in mammals and to generate hypotheses for subsequent testing in mammalian models.