Microbial Colonization and the Host: Reshaping the Landscape?

Traditionally, colonization of a host has been described in terms of a microbial community that does not affect the host, but recent research (such as the Human Microbiome Project) suggests that colonizing microbes are having an effect not only on the host, but on each other. Participants will discuss how small molecule interactions between the major constituents of the nasal microbiome are key drivers of the community composition in the nose, and how one intestinal bacterium's ability to produce a neurotransmitter has the potential to prevent or treat inflammatory bowel diseases.

Guests:
Katherine Lemon, The Forsyth Institute and Boston Children's Hospital
Karina Pokusaeva, Baylor College of Medicine