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Table of Contents

Volume 89 • Number 9 • August 2021

Special Issue: Microbiome and Infection

Editorial

Editorial16 August 2021IAI Special Issue on Microbiome and Infection

Special Collection on the Microbiome and Infection

https://doi.org/10.1128/iai.00356-21
Few recent developments in the biological sciences have been as profound or impactful as the budding field of microbiome research. In the past decade, the microbiome has been implicated in many key biological processes, including immune system development, metabolism, and behavior. However, researchers are still struggling to define what constitutes a healthy microbiome (1). Microbial communities differ between individuals, exhibiting little overlap on the species level (2), thus making it all but impossible to define a healthy microbiome by itemizing microbial species or cataloguing their genes (3, 4). Our inability to translate an ever-increasing depth of microbiota measurements into a framework for homeostasis might be rooted in the fact that the microbiome encompasses the microbiota and its host environment (5, 6), but the latter is rarely included in the analysis. In other words, environmental factors that determine which microbial strategies will be successful in the body need to be considered alongside microbiota measurements to understand what constitutes a healthy microbiome (7). These environmental factors include the diet and host functions that select for phenotypic characteristics required for microbial growth and survival in a habitat patch (8). One way to identify these host functions is to study mucosal pathogens, because their virulence factors target said host functions to alter habitat characteristics, often with the goal to promote pathogen growth (9). This property makes pathogens excellent tools for microbiome research (10). In this special collection on the microbiome and infection, we showcase this exciting new area of research with a series of articles exploring the interface between the host and its microbial ecosystem.

Spotlight

BacteriologySpotlight16 August 2021IAI Special Issue on Microbiome and Infection

Articles of Significant Interest in This Issue

    https://doi.org/10.1128/iai.00390-21
    The lung-gut axis is critical during viral respiratory tract infections. In influenza A virus-infected mice, the signs of intestinal injury and inflammation peaked on day 7 postinfection, an effect associated with a decreased production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) by the gut microbiota. Treatment of infected mice with SCFAs was associated with an enhancement of intestinal barrier properties and reduced translocation of the enteric pathogen Salmonella Typhimurium. These findings from Sencio et al. (e00734-20) provide a novel mechanistic scenario for postinfluenza enteric bacterial superinfection and might have therapeutic applications in diseases associated with altered microbiota and secondary infections.

    Minireviews

    Pathogenesis and Host ResponseMinireview16 August 2021IAI Special Issue on Microbiome and Infection

    Cross Talk between Gut Microbiota and Intestinal Mucosal Immunity in the Development of Ulcerative Colitis

    https://doi.org/10.1128/iai.00014-21
    Ulcerative colitis (UC), a nonspecific inflammatory disease, is characterized by inflammation and mucosal damage in the colon, and its prevalence in the world is increasing. Nevertheless, the exact pathogenesis of UC is still unclear.
    ImmunologyMinireview16 August 2021IAI Special Issue on Microbiome and Infection

    Short-Chain Fatty Acids as a Potential Treatment for Infections: a Closer Look at the Lungs

    https://doi.org/10.1128/iai.00188-21
    Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are the main metabolites produced by the gut microbiota via the fermentation of complex carbohydrates and fibers. Evidence suggests that SCFAs play a role in the control of infections through direct action both on ...
    ImmunologyMinireview16 August 2021IAI Special Issue on Microbiome and Infection

    How Could Antibiotics, Probiotics, and Corticoids Modify Microbiota and Its Influence in Cancer Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: A Review

    https://doi.org/10.1128/iai.00665-20
    Immunotherapy has become a new paradigm in oncology, improving outcomes for several types of cancer. However, there are some aspects about its management that remain uncertain.

    Host Response and Inflammation

    Pathogenesis and Host ResponseResearch Article16 August 2021IAI Special Issue on Microbiome and Infection

    Neonatal Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli Infection Disrupts Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis Signaling

    https://doi.org/10.1128/iai.00059-21
    Diarrheal diseases are a leading cause of death in children under the age of 5 years worldwide. Repeated early-life exposures to diarrheal pathogens can result in comorbidities including stunted growth and cognitive deficits, suggesting an impairment in ...
    Spotlight SelectionHost-Microbial InteractionsResearch Article16 August 2021IAI Special Issue on Microbiome and Infection

    Influenza Virus Infection Impairs the Gut’s Barrier Properties and Favors Secondary Enteric Bacterial Infection through Reduced Production of Short-Chain Fatty Acids

    https://doi.org/10.1128/iai.00734-20
    Along with respiratory tract disease per se, viral respiratory infections can also cause extrapulmonary complications with a potentially critical impact on health. In the present study, we used an experimental model of influenza A virus (IAV) infection to ...

    Microbial Immunity and Vaccines

    Human MicrobiomeResearch Article16 August 2021IAI Special Issue on Microbiome and Infection

    Gut Microbiota and Development of Vibrio cholerae-Specific Long-Term Memory B Cells in Adults after Whole-Cell Killed Oral Cholera Vaccine

    https://doi.org/10.1128/iai.00217-21
    Cholera is a diarrheal disease caused by Vibrio cholerae that continues to be a major public health concern in populations without access to safe water. IgG- and IgA-secreting memory B cells (MBC) targeting the V. cholerae O-specific polysaccharide (OSP) ...

    Host-Associated Microbial Communities

    BacteriologyResearch Article16 August 2021IAI Special Issue on Microbiome and Infection

    The Vibrio cholerae Type Six Secretion System Is Dispensable for Colonization but Affects Pathogenesis and the Structure of Zebrafish Intestinal Microbiome

    https://doi.org/10.1128/iai.00151-21
    Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are an attractive model organism for a variety of scientific studies, including host-microbe interactions. The organism is particularly useful for the study of aquatic microbes that can colonize vertebrate hosts, including Vibrio ...
    Spotlight SelectionMicrobial EcologyResearch Article16 August 2021IAI Special Issue on Microbiome and Infection

    Anaerobic Microbiota Derived from the Upper Airways Impact Staphylococcus aureus Physiology

    https://doi.org/10.1128/iai.00153-21
    Staphylococcus aureus is associated with the development of persistent and severe inflammatory diseases of the upper airways. Yet, S. aureus is also carried asymptomatically in the sinonasal cavity of ∼50% of healthy adults. The causes of this duality and ...
    Host-Microbial InteractionsResearch Article16 August 2021IAI Special Issue on Microbiome and Infection

    Vibrio cholerae Infection Induces Strain-Specific Modulation of the Zebrafish Intestinal Microbiome

    https://doi.org/10.1128/iai.00157-21
    Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is an attractive model organism to use for an array of scientific studies, including host-microbe interactions. Zebrafish contain a core (i.e., consistently detected) intestinal microbiome consisting primarily of Proteobacteria.
    Host-Microbial InteractionsResearch Article16 August 2021IAI Special Issue on Microbiome and Infection

    Cage Environment Regulates Gut Microbiota Independent of Toll-Like Receptors

    https://doi.org/10.1128/iai.00187-21
    The gut microbiome orchestrates epithelial homeostasis and both local and remote immunological responses. Critical to these regulatory interactions are innate immune receptors termed Toll-like receptors (TLRs).

    Masthead

    Masthead16 August 2021

    Editorial Board

      https://doi.org/10.1128/iai.masthead.89-9
      Andreas J. Bäumler
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      homepage Infection and Immunity cover image

      Cover photograph: Neonatal EPEC infection-induced microglia activation in adult mice. Neonatal EPEC infection caused microglia activation in both the dentate gyrus (top panels) and the CA1 (bottom panels) regions of the hippocampus as determined by Iba1 staining (green). In EPECinfected adult mice (right panels), microglia are increased in number and more ameboid in shape versus more ramified sham-infected control cells (left panels). Blue staining represents nuclei (DAPI), and red overlay represents Iba1-positive cells selected for morphological characterization by Imaris and 3DMorph. (See related article at e00059-21.) (Copyright © 2021 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.)

      Cover photograph: Neonatal EPEC infection-induced microglia activation in adult mice. Neonatal EPEC infection caused microglia activation in both the dentate gyrus (top panels) and the CA1 (bottom panels) regions of the hippocampus as determined by Iba1 staining (green). In EPECinfected adult mice (right panels), microglia are increased in number and more ameboid in shape versus more ramified sham-infected control cells (left panels). Blue staining represents nuclei (DAPI), and red overlay represents Iba1-positive cells selected for morphological characterization by Imaris and 3DMorph. (See related article at e00059-21.) (Copyright © 2021 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.)

      Table of ContentsEditorial Board