Coalescing Microbiology and Ecology: Microbiome Food for Thought

摘要

In recent decades, there has been an exponential increase in research focus on the microbiome, partic- ularly for host- associated microbiomes (e.g., humans). Our growing insight into the importance of host– microbial interactions has led to a surge in studies aimed at manipulating the microbiome to improve health prospects, agricultural yields, and ecosystem services, to name a few. Because of the vast amount of microbiome knowledge that currently exists, it can be a significant problem to get a solid handle on the breadth and depth of current and foundational microbiome research; this is further exacerbated by new technologies and techniques, which facilitate microbiome examinations in differing ways (e.g., metatranscriptomics, metabolomics, etc.). In that sense, the book Microbiomes of Soils, Plants and Animals: An Integrated Approach provides a great snapshot of current microbiome knowledge for those new to the field or wanting to increase the breadth of their existing knowledge. This book covers micro- biomes from numerous systems (e.g., grasslands, forests, peatlands, corals, plants, insects, and humans), as well as the microbiome association with disease, responding to environmental change, and harnessing the microbiome for applied purposes. In particular, this book should be of particular interest to tradi- tional ecologists or physiologists (e.g., plant physiology) who recognize the important intersection of their model system and their associated microbiome and wish to develop their knowledge.