Host microbial interactions are dynamic, reciprocal biological processes in which multicellular hosts and their associated microorganisms (commensal, symbiotic, or pathogenic) exchange signals, metabolites, and structural components that modulate physiology, development, and immunity. These interactions involve host pattern-recognition receptors detecting microbe-associated molecular patterns, triggering signaling pathways that shape immune tolerance or activation. Microbes, in turn, influence host nutrient acquisition, barrier function, and cellular differentiation through metabolite production, colonization resistance, and modulation of host gene expression. The net outcome of host microbial interactions emerges from complex community-level dynamics, spatial organization at mucosal surfaces, and context-dependent environmental and genetic factors.
A new advance in animal husbandry involving a popular aquarium fish should speed the pace of discovery in laboratory studies of host-microbe interactions, researchers report. The new findings by researchers from the University ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 1, 2026
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6
New research by scientists at the University of Calgary has found that plants, ranging from canola to rice to tomatoes, actively shut down their own ability to take up iron when they experience drought. It's a finding that ...
Ecology
Jun 1, 2026
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13
For decades, doctors have widely used tetracyclines for conditions ranging from acne to tick-borne illnesses. Using high-resolution imaging technology, researchers in the laboratory of Christopher Bunick, MD, Ph.D., associate ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 22, 2026
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When researchers test whether an antibiotic will work, they usually do so in a controlled laboratory environment. But when an infection happens inside the human body, things aren't so clean and tidy. New research from the ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 21, 2026
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13
Can you imagine feeling good about your body being home to trillions of bacteria and viruses—as well as life-giving "invisible friend" microbes in the air, soil and water? Before you say yuck, this concept is a new way microbiologists ...
Ecology
May 18, 2026
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134
Pet owners love their dogs but may not always love the smell of their breath. Because this bad odor can signal oral disease, veterinary clinics will prescribe daily toothbrushing, antibiotics, or chemical rinses as treatment. ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 18, 2026
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26
Researchers have long known that bacteria could potentially be used to deliver therapeutic drugs inside the human body. However, safely and successfully carrying out such a feat in humans has been a challenge. But now, researchers ...
Alternative therapies that aid the body's immune system to fight bacteria have shown promise in addressing the global threat of antibiotic resistance. University of Queensland researchers have found when under attack, the ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 14, 2026
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121
Symbiosis, or the interaction of two unalike species, is common and often necessary for survival. In insects, symbiotic microbes often facilitate and promote the growth of hosts. Before the symbiotic collaboration can begin, ...
Ecology
May 14, 2026
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19
A study led by researchers at the University of Liège reveals the mechanism by which surfactin, a molecule produced by beneficial soil bacteria, activates plants' immune defenses. This mechanism, distinct from the classical ...
Plants & Animals
May 7, 2026
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