Abstract

Interactions between microbes and human hosts can range from a benign, even symbiotic collaboration to a competition that may turn fatal — resulting in death of the host, the microbe or both. Despite advances that have been made over the past decades in understanding microbial pathogens, more people worldwide still die every year from infectious disease than from any other cause. This highlights the relevance of continuing to probe the mechanisms used by microorganisms to cause disease, and emphasizes the need for new model systems to advance our understanding of host–pathogen interactions.

1. Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, 4301 Jones Bridge Road, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, USA
   Email: dmerrell@usuhs.mil
2. Stanford School of Medicine, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, 299 Campus Drive, Fairchild, D051 Stanford, California 94305, USA

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