Scope

Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems aims to promote the latest and most impactful research on structure, dynamics and function of the microbial ecosystem in the digestive tracts of vertebrates. We welcome submissions that report on molecular and/or physiological approaches studying vertebrate digestive tract ecosystem communities at various scales ranging from cultured communities to microbiomes in vitro, in situ or in vivo.

The vertebrate digestive tract is home to several large and dynamic microbial communities, with some exhibiting the highest community density recorded in any habitat on Earth. Consisting of mutualistic, commensal, and parasitic including pathogenic microorganisms, these communities and their hosts have evolved to form co-metabolic, syntrophic, and synergistic relationships. In a balanced system, resident microorganisms will produce a wide range of secondary metabolites that benefit host metabolic needs while the host provides a stable environment and access to nutrients in return.

Both long- and short-term dynamics of the individual digestive tract ecosystem community structures are impacted by a multitude of factors including age and diet of the host and a variety of stressors. Such biological, chemical, and physical stressors can impact the overall mutualistic nature of interactions between members of the microbial digestive tract ecosystem, pushing the system beyond its limits resulting in dysbiosis by favoring commensal and parasitic community members.

This specialty encourages the submission of manuscripts reporting on:

• Diversity and abundance of mutualistic, commensal, and pathogenic microorganisms in the vertebrate digestive tract.
• Long- and short-term dynamics of microbial communities in relation to age (*including neonatal, infant/early, and geriatric life stages), diet (including malnutrition & exposure to antimicrobials), catastrophic events (injuries and *interventions such as fecal transplants) 
• Biological, chemical, and physical stressors including the effects of probiotics on microbiome composition and dynamics
• Gastrointestinal microbiome composition and its relationship with the host immune system and health

Microorganisms in Vertebrate Digestive Systems does not consider purely descriptive studies, that are not based on a hypothesis and not accompanied by experimentation documenting correlations between changes in the composition of the digestive tract ecosystem and its effects on the host.

Manuscripts with a focus on the digestive tract ecosystem community in invertebrate animals may benefit from submission to our Microbial Symbioses section. Manuscripts without a focus on the microorganisms in digestive tract ecosystem community will benefit from submission to our Systems Microbiology section. Manuscripts with a focus on the health of the human host or specific diseases will benefit from submission our Infectious Disease section or to sections in our sister journal Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology.

Submission

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