The human and his microbiome risk factors for infections

Abstract

If we take humans as supra-organisms, they could be considered as composed of human and microbial cells. Because of the remarkable influence of microbiota on health and disease, learning about characteristics of microbiota and the factors that modulate it has become the focus of ongoing research. If we apply ecological and evolutionary principles, we may improve our current understanding. Humans are essentially interlopers in a microbial world. Their evolution has been completely dependent on microbes. Thus, even if humans are the dominant species on our planet, they are not the most important from a purely biological point of view. The omnipresent microbial population is not only the oldest form of life on Earth, having emerged more than 3 billion years ago, but also the most numerous and biologically diverse. They are also the most able to adapt to environmental changes. According to many pundits, microbes will be the sole survivors of any global catastrophe short of the complete destruction of all life on Earth.