Next Generation Sequencing based approaches to study evolution and variation in microbial populations.
Using metagenomics for modelling the host microbe interaction and the equilibrium subtending health from disease is one of the paths to understand the basis of several diseases.
Also modelling the networks sustaining the fruitful coexistence between microbes and their mammalian hosts is becoming increasingly important in order to control emerging pathogens. In a ’systems biology’ perspective, the microbiota and host should be seen as an ecosystem, and disease considered as an alteration of the equilibrium.
This talk addresses host-microbe interaction with special focus on the ecology of the gastrointestinal microbes, and the environmental determinants of the expression of potentially pathogenic traits. We will discuss the role of next generation sequencing approaches in understanding how diet acts in shaping microbiota by comparing results from studies on African and European children based on sequencing whole gut microbiome.
Knowledge of the interaction of “friendly” organisms, generally recognized as safe, such as foodborne microorganisms, with diet and with potential pathogens will significantly improve our ability to understand the selective forces shaping population structure of gut metagenome and its correlation with gut health.
