In ecological terms, the microbiome is defined as the microbiota and its environment, a definition that encompasses the human host. The size, species composition, and biogeography of microbial communities is shaped by host interactions, and, in turn, the microbiota influences many aspects of human health. Here we discuss the concept of microbiota-nourishing immunity, a host-microbe chimera composed of the microbiota and host factors that shape the microbial ecosystem, which functions in conferring colonization resistance against pathogens. We propose that dysbiosis is a biomarker of a weakening in microbiota-nourishing immunity and that homeostasis can be defined as a state of immune competence. Microbiota-nourishing immunity thus provides a conceptual framework to further examine the mechanisms that preserve a healthy microbiome and the drivers and consequences of dysbiosis.

中文翻译：

---

滋养微生物的免疫力：了解我们的微生物自我的指南。

用生态学术语来说，微生物组被定义为微生物群及其环境，这一定义涵盖了人类宿主。微生物群落的大小，物种组成和生物地理是由宿主之间的相互作用所决定的，而微生物群又会影响人类健康的许多方面。在这里，我们讨论了滋养微生物群的免疫力的概念，一种由微生物群和塑造微生物生态系统的宿主因子组成的宿主微生物嵌合体，其功能是赋予细菌抵抗病原体的能力。我们提出，生物失调是微生物菌群增强免疫力减弱的生物标志，并且稳态可以被定义为一种免疫能力的状态。