Author Description

Microbiomes: A Very Short Introduction provides a succinct overview of the communities of microorganisms that inhabit animals (including humans) and plants. Microbiomes are generally beneficial to their animal and plant hosts, functioning to promote healthy growth, to protect against infectious disease, and, in some animals, to support complex behavioural traits, such as learning and memory. However, under some circumstances, the microbiome can cause or exacerbate poor health and disease. Microbiomes studies are increasingly being harnessed, especially in biomedicine for improved human health, and in agriculture for crop production. With the increasing evidence that modern lifestyles and excessive use of antimicrobials are degrading microbiomes, microbiome research is providing routes for novel microbial therapies to restore health-promoting microbiomes in humans, other animals and plants.