Mucosal surfaces are in direct contact with the external environment, making them the first point of contact between a host and an invading pathogen. Furthermore, mucosa are colonized by an array of commensal and beneficial microorganisms, meaning that the mucosal immune system must be able to differentiate between friend and foe. This Focus highlights the latest research providing insights into the composition of our mucosal microbial communities, the host and environmental factors that shape these communities, their interaction with the immune system and the impact of antibiotics on them.
Together with recent Research Highlights and an accompanying Web Library of the most relevant recent publications from Nature Publishing Group, these articles describe our current understanding of this emerging field.
Editorial
Microbiology turns inwards
doi:10.1038/nrmicro2542
Nature Reviews Microbiology 9, 224 (2011)
Reviews
Shifting the balance: antibiotic effects on host–microbiota mutualism
Benjamin P. Willing, Shannon L. Russell & B. Brett Finlay
doi:10.1038/nrmicro2536
Nature Reviews Microbiology 9, 233-243 (2011)
The use of antibiotics is making lasting alterations to the long-term relationship between a host and its microbiota. Willing, Russell and Finlay describe how these changes can result in the disruption of immune homeostasis and in increased susceptibility to disease.
The skin microbiome
Elizabeth A. Grice & Julia A. Segre
doi:10.1038/nrmicro2537
Nature Reviews Microbiology 9, 244-253 (2011)
Human skin is colonized by a diverse range of microorganisms. In this Review, Grice and Segre describe how molecular techniques are improving our understanding of our skin microbiota, the factors that affect its composition and its relationship with skin disorders.
Mucin dynamics and enteric pathogens
Michael A. McGuckin, Sara K. Lindén, Philip Sutton & Timothy H. Florin
doi:10.1038/nrmicro2538
Nature Reviews Microbiology 9, 265-278 (2011)
The mucus barrier provides a crucial defence against commensal microorganisms and enteric pathogens. In this Review, McGuckin and colleagues describe the structure of the mucus barrier and discuss how the composition of the mucus layer is regulated under normal conditions and in response to infection.
Genome-virome interactions: examining the role of common viral infections in complex disease
Ellen F. Foxman & Akiko Iwasaki
doi:10.1038/nrmicro2541
Nature Reviews Microbiology 9, 254-264 (2011)
Many diseases may be caused by the combination of a specific host genetic background and a viral infection. Here, Foxman and Iwasaki describe how viral infections may be involved in type 1 diabetes, asthma and inflammatory bowel disease.
Unraveling the effects of environment and host genotype on the gut microbiome
Aymé Spor, Omry Koren & Ruth Ley
doi:10.1038/nrmicro2540
Nature Reviews Microbiology 9, 279-290 (2011)
In recent years, the composition of the gut microbiome has become the subject of intensive study. In this Review, Spor, Koren and Ley describe how host genetics and the environment shape the gut microbiome, both in health and in chronic disease.
Paneth cells, antimicrobial peptides and maintenance of intestinal homeostasis
Charles L. Bevins and Nita H. Salzman
doi:10.1038/nrmicro2546
Nature Reviews Microbiology 9, 356-368 (2011)
The gut microbiota and the host immune system are in a careful balance. The Paneth cells in the endothelium of the small intestine produce a large array of antimicrobial proteins that help set this balance and protect the host from pathogens.
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