The intestinal microbiota is comprises a diverse community of micro-organisms that interact with many host processes. Innate immune responses to the gut microbiota are of particular importance as they influence many other downstream responses. This fascinating host–microbe crosstalk is a rapidly expanding field of study; thus, it is critical to ensure reproducibility between studies and applicability to human clinical trials through standardization of experiments. We discuss here recent advances in the field including the spectrum of colonization statuses available, the critical importance of colonization timing, the dynamics of the microbial community, and the required housing of animals, as they pertain to appropriate experimental control and design.

肠道微生物群由多种微生物群落组成，它们与许多宿主过程相互作用。对肠道微生物群的先天免疫反应特别重要，因为它们会影响许多其他下游反应。这种迷人的宿主-微生物串扰是一个快速扩展的研究领域。因此，通过实验标准化确保研究之间的可重复性和对人体临床试验的适用性至关重要。我们在这里讨论该领域的最新进展，包括可用的定植状态范围、定植时间的关键重要性、微生物群落的动态以及所需的动物住房，因为它们与适当的实验控制和设计有关。