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Updated: Jun 14, 2025

Microbiota of Attine Ants' Gardens: Visualizing a Microbial Landscape by Scanning Electron Microscopy
Published on: October 4, 2024
Origins and functions of microbiome rhythms
Silke Kiessling1, Shuaitong Liu2, Dirk Haller3
1Faculty of Health and Biomedical Science, University of Surrey, 388 Stag Hill Campus, 17 GU27XH Guildford, UK.
Abstract:
Daily oscillations in microbiota composition and function are emerging as an important element in host-microbiota interactions. Here, we summarize features of the microbiota that undergo diurnal rhythms, their development, their impact on the biology of the host, and their relevance to human health and disease. In particular, we focus on the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that regulate microbiota oscillations and the multifaceted roles that microbiota rhythmicity plays in host physiology, immunity, and metabolism. Given the pervasive impact of intestinal microorganisms on host health, understanding the origins and functions of microbiota rhythms is a critical aspect of the circadian biology of the meta-organism.
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