Open AccessMicrobial Eukaryotes: a Missing Link in Gut Microbiome Studies
Author(s) -
Isabelle LaforestLapointe,
MarieClaire Arrieta
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
msystems
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.931
H-Index - 39
ISSN - 2379-5077
DOI - 10.1128/msystems.00201-17
Subject(s) - biology , metagenomics , microbiome , eukaryote , microbial ecology , tree of life (biology) , gut microbiome , clade , evolutionary biology , ecology , gut flora , computational biology , human microbiome , phylogenetics , bacteria , gene , genome , genetics , immunology
Human-associated microbial communities include prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms across high-level clades of the tree of life. While advances in high-throughput sequencing technology allow for the study of diverse lineages, the vast majority of studies are limited to bacteria, and very little is known on how eukaryote microbes fit in the overall microbial ecology of the human gut. As recent studies consider eukaryotes in their surveys, it is becoming increasingly clear that eukaryotes play important ecological roles in the microbiome as well as in host health. In this perspective, we discuss new evidence on eukaryotes as fundamental species of the human gut and emphasize that future microbiome studies should characterize the multitrophic interactions between microeukaryotes, other microorganisms, and the host.