Dispersal and spatial heterogeneity allow coexistence between enemies and protective mutualists

Poisot, Timothée; Bever, James D.; Thrall, Peter H.; Hochberg, Michael

doi:10.1002/ece3.1151

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 56 publications

(95 reference statements)

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“…b Environmental filtering works on the traits of dispersed colonists—microbes that can survive in a given set of environmental conditions are filtered from the pool of potential colonists [ 125 ]: the resources and conditions found there permit the survival/growth of some organisms but not others. c Protective mutualisms function through the occupation of niche space; harmful microorganisms are excluded from colonization via saturation of available habitat by benign, non-harmful microbes [ 126 ]. d Host/microbe feedbacks occur via the microbiota’s ability to activate host immune response and the host immune system’s ability to modulate the skin microbiota [ 106 , 127 , 128 ].…”

Section: The Human Microbiota and Hygiene In An Ecological Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cleanliness in context: reconciling hygiene with a modern microbial perspective

et al. 2017

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The concept of hygiene is rooted in the relationship between cleanliness and the maintenance of good health. Since the widespread acceptance of the germ theory of disease, hygiene has become increasingly conflated with sterilization. In reviewing studies across the hygiene literature (most often hand hygiene), we found that nearly all studies of hand hygiene utilize bulk reduction in bacterial load as a proxy for reduced transmission of pathogenic organisms. This treatment of hygiene may be insufficient in light of recent microbial ecology research, which has demonstrated that humans have intimate and evolutionarily significant relationships with a diverse assemblage of microorganisms (our microbiota). The human skin is home to a diverse and specific community of microorganisms, which include members that exist across the ecological spectrum from pathogen through commensal to mutualist. Most evidence suggests that the skin microbiota is likely of direct benefit to the host and only rarely exhibits pathogenicity. This complex ecological context suggests that the conception of hygiene as a unilateral reduction or removal of microbes has outlived its usefulness. As such, we suggest the explicit definition of hygiene as “those actions and practices that reduce the spread or transmission of pathogenic microorganisms, and thus reduce the incidence of disease.”

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Section: The Human Microbiota and Hygiene In An Ecological Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cleanliness in context: reconciling hygiene with a modern microbial perspective

et al. 2017

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“…[93]; high dispersal rates due to human behaviors (e.g., microbial resuspension due to drying hands with an air dryer) have the potential to disperse both beneficial and harmful bacteria alike. Protective mutualisms (b) function through the occupation of niche space; harmful microorganisms are excluded from colonization via saturation of available habitat by benign, non-harmful microbes [94].…”

Section: Availability Of Data and Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cleanliness in context: reconciling hygiene with a modern microbial perspective

Vandegrift

Bateman

Siemens

et al. 2016

Preprint

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The concept of hygiene is rooted in the relationship between cleanliness and the maintenance of good health. Since the widespread acceptance of the germ theory of disease, hygiene has become increasingly conflated with sterilization. In reviewing studies across the hygiene literature (most often hand hygiene), we found that nearly all studies of hand hygiene utilize bulk reduction in bacterial load as a proxy for reduced transmission of pathogenic organisms. This treatment of hygiene may be insufficient in light of recent microbial ecology research, which has demonstrated that humans have intimate and evolutionarily significant relationships with a diverse assemblage of microorganisms (our microbiota). The human skin is home to a diverse and specific community of microorganisms, which include members that exist across the ecological spectrum from pathogen through commensal to mutualist. Most evidence suggests that the skin microbiota is likely of direct benefit to the host and only rarely exhibits pathogenicity. This complex ecological context suggests that the conception of hygiene as a unilateral reduction or removal of microbes has outlived its usefulness. As such, we suggest the explicit definition of hygiene as "those actions and practices that reduce the spread or transmission of pathogenic microorganisms, and thus reduce the incidence of disease."

show abstract