Microbial endocrinology - crosstalk between microbe and host
Microbial endocrinology, by definition, represents the integration of the fields of microbiology and neurobiology. It is based on the use of neurochemistry as a shared evolutionary language linking microorganisms, including infectious bacteria, with elements of the host. Many of the neuroactive compounds that are integral to communication within the host, such as between neural and immune components, first evolved in plants and then prokaryotes. The recognition that microorganisms can not only produce, but also recognize, many of these same neuroactive compounds utilized by the host, such as the catecholamines, means that there is the opportunity for bi-directional communication between host and the microbiota. It has now been over 30 years since the first report that neurochemicals associated with the stress response could influence the growth and production of virulence factors by pathogenic bacteria. Since then, the ability of microorganisms to produce and respond to neuroactive chemicals that can influence host physiological and behavioral processes such as through the microbiome-gut-brain axis have been increasingly reported.
What is this collection about?
The purpose of this Collection is to explore the multi-faceted application of microbial endocrinology, and by extension bi-directional communication between microbiota and host, to various aspects of health and disease, including behavioural aspects. In the past, microbial endocrinology-related research has centered mainly on the infectious disease component with numerous reports demonstrating the role of microbial recognition of host-produced neurochemicals, principally the stress-related catecholamines, as being integral to the development of pathogenesis. More recently, the utilization of a microbial endocrinology-based bi-directional communication approach has also provided critical insights into how the microbiome-gut-brain axis may influence health and behaviour as well.
With that said, the scope of what a microbial endocrinology-based approach encompasses is very broad as the implications of microbial recognition of what are otherwise commonly thought to be mammalian-centric neurochemicals extends beyond just infectious disease or the microbiota-gut-brain axis. As an example, it also applies to fields such as nutrition given that many plants which are used in food production contain levels of neurochemicals and their precursors that can impact host physiology and the functionality of microbial communities in the gut.
Therefore, this Collection welcomes Original Research Articles, Brief Communications, Reviews, Perspectives, and Technical Reports/Methods that advance conceptual or methodological understanding of microbial endocrinology and how . Both fundamental and translational/clinical studies are encouraged.
Why is this collection important?
This Collection supports and amplifies research that is related to SDG 3. As such, the purpose of this Collection is to publish a wide spectrum of studies that further our understanding, as well as engender new studies, into the role that the evolutionary, neurochemistry-based bi-directional communication between host and microbiota, which is the basis of microbial endocrinology, carry for improving health and the treatment of disease.
How can I submit my paper?
Visit the Microbial endocrinology collection page to find out more about this collection and submit your article.
Who is involved?
npj Biofilms and Microbiomes is edited by in-house professional editors.
For this Special Collection, Professor Mark Lyte, Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Ames, Iowa, USA serves as Guest Editor.