Microbiota, in the context of biological processes, refers to the dynamic, collectively functioning community of microorganisms that engage in continuous interactions with each other and with their host or environment. These processes include colonization, succession, metabolic activity (such as fermentation, vitamin synthesis, and xenobiotic transformation), signaling, competition, and cooperative interactions that shape local ecological niches. Through these activities, microbiota modulate host physiological processes including barrier function, immune maturation, and energy harvest, and participate in biogeochemical cycles. The term emphasizes the ongoing, emergent biological processes arising from microbial community composition, gene expression, and environmental feedbacks.
As one moves north, Maine's kelp forests are being overtaken by dense mats of carpet-like turf algae. The steady decline of kelp and transition into this new state are altering the ecosystem all the way down to the microbial ...
Ecology
Aug 31, 2026
0
12
As space missions become longer and ambitions for deep-space travel grow, scientists are working to understand how life beyond Earth may affect every system in the human body. Two years after her initial study took flight, ...
Space Exploration
Aug 27, 2026
0
18
In the journal npj Biofilms and Microbiomes, researchers from the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) and the University of São Paulo (USP) describe the role of three bacteria in suppressing a soil-borne ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 24, 2026
0
11
New research reveals that microbial clocks—forensic tools that track the succession and development of bacteria and fungi involved in decomposition after death—are highly accurate for estimating time since death, or postmortem ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 19, 2026
0
11
The human body is teeming with more than 35 trillion bacteria, coexisting in microbiomes inside the gut, mouth, lungs, skin and urogenital tract. While it's now clear these microbes are associated with health and disease, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 14, 2026
0
631
University of Bristol–led researchers have identified a naturally occurring gut molecule that could strengthen chickens' immune response against a wide range of bacterial infections. This development, published today, Aug. ...
Veterinary medicine
Aug 12, 2026
0
10
A single leaf may look like a simple patch of green, but to the microscopic life that inhabits it, it is a vast landscape divided into different worlds.
Plants & Animals
Aug 10, 2026
0
36
Microbial communities are highly sensitive to environmental changes, yet their enormous diversity makes it difficult to identify ecological patterns. A research team from the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde ...
Ecology
Aug 7, 2026
0
8
Soilless farming—a method of growing plants in a nutrient-rich solution rather than traditional soil—accounts for a significant share of vegetable production, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), with more ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 5, 2026
0
8
A moth caterpillar identified by the agribusiness sector as one of the most destructive pests of soybean, cotton and corn crops may harbor fungi and bacteria in its gut that can degrade expanded polystyrene, also known as ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jul 23, 2026
0
20
