Host control and species interactions jointly determine microbiome community structure

Area of Science:

• Microbiome ecology
• Host-microbe interactions
• Immunology

Background:

• The host microbiome is an ecological community influenced by host selective pressures.
• Host immune responses act as ecological filters, shaping microbial community assembly and composition.
• The interplay between host immunity and within-microbiome dynamics remains largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a mathematical framework elucidating the role of host immune response in microbiome assembly.
• To investigate how host immune control interacts with ecological interactions within the microbiome.

Main Methods:

• Mathematical modeling of microbial community dynamics.
• Analysis of host immune control strength and its impact on community stability.
• Simulation of invasion dynamics under varying ecological interaction types.

Main Results:

• Highly mutualistic microbial communities are susceptible to invasion with increased host immune control.
• Highly competitive microbial communities demonstrate stability against changing host immune control.
• Host immune control interacts with microbiome communities in context-dependent ways based on prevalent ecological interactions.

Conclusions:

• Host immune control significantly influences microbiome community assembly and stability.
• The type of ecological interactions within a microbiome dictates its response to host immune pressure.
• Incorporating host-control mechanisms is crucial for a comprehensive understanding of microbiome dynamics.