Fundamentals of Microbiome Science: How Microbes Shape Animal Biology

The book provides an accessible and authoritative guide to the fundamental principles of microbiome science, an exciting and fast-emerging new discipline that is reshaping many aspects of the life sciences. It explains why microbiome science demands creative and interdisciplinary thinking and how it can deliver novel therapies and strategies for medical conditions and pest control.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 248 pages
Publication date: 08 June 2021
Publisher: Princeton University Press

This book offers a comprehensive and accessible guide to the fundamental principles of microbiome science, a rapidly emerging and transformative field that is reshaping numerous aspects of the life sciences. Resident microbes in healthy animals, including humans, play a pivotal role in determining numerous characteristics of the animal host. This animal microbiome serves as a second immune system, providing protection against pathogens and influencing host metabolism, behavior, and ecological traits. These microbial partners can also drive ecologically significant features, such as thermal tolerance and diet, and have contributed to animal diversification over long evolutionary periods.

Drawing on concepts and data from diverse disciplines and systems, Angela Douglas establishes a conceptual framework for understanding these animal-microbe interactions while highlighting the critical scientific challenges that lie ahead. Douglas emphasizes the importance of creative and interdisciplinary thinking in microbiome science, which requires the ability to combine microbiology with animal physiology, ecological theory with immunology, and evolutionary perspectives with metabolic science.

This book serves as an essential introduction to a cutting-edge field that is revolutionizing the life sciences. It explains why microbiome science provides a more comprehensive understanding of the biology of humans and other animals, and how it can lead to the development of novel therapies for medical conditions and innovative strategies for pest control. By exploring the intricate relationships between animals and their microbial companions, this book offers valuable insights into the complex and dynamic world of microbiomes, paving the way for future research and applications in fields ranging from agriculture to medicine.

Weight: 390g
Dimension: 233 x 236 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780691217710