INFRAFRONTIER and Institut Pasteur co-organise conference titled 'Modelling the Mammalian-Microbiota Host Superorganism'

It is now well recognised that microbiota play an important role in the development, immunity and physiology of their mammalian host. Considerable progress has been made in identifying microbes and microbial metabolites that modulate host functions, maintain health, and drive pathology. This knowledge has been derived from characterising microbiota during development and adult life, during health and disease, using animal and mechanical models to decipher the complex interactions between microbes and host and to infer causal relationships.

The aim of this meeting is to bring together experts in the field to discuss novel insights into the microbiota-host mutualism and parasitism, and focus on the new models and approaches to explore this relationship. In the near future, these advances will lead to the development of preventive and therapeutic strategies based on microbiota manipulation or the use of microbial metabolites, and allow the microbiota to become a key diagnostic component in precision medicine.