The Microbiome: Evolutionary Perspective and Symbiogenesis

Abstract

Abstract:The main function of the Immune System (IS) in metazoans is to protect them against invading microorganisms, which are considered from this perspective as competitors that reduce the availability of resources, cause tissue damage and essentially threaten their adaptability. This relationship is seen as a low intensity perpetual armed war, related to the hypothesis of the "Red Queen". This view suggests that the metazoans' IS has evolved under a selective pressure imposed by microorganisms of the microbiota, that whether infectious or not, have co-evolved with the host's IS in an evolutionary symbiogenesis, with reciprocal interactions that have developed local immunity. The microbiota changes with age and communicates with the brain. The above mentioned implies that we are witnessing the birth of a new scientific discipline that could be termed microbial anthropology, and several perspectives that includes the change of our perception of health and established the fundamentals for the use of microorganisms as therapeutic agents. In order for these therapies to succeed considerable information must be available about our microbiota, such as changes during pregnancy, the effects of antibiotic use, new methods for in vitro cultivation and the host-commensal dynamics.