Background: The gut microbiota is essential to human health throughout life, yet the acquisition
and development of this microbial community during infancy remains poorly understood. …

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a sensor of products of tryptophan metabolism and
a potent modulator of immunity. Here, we examined the impact of AhR in tumor-associated …

Phenotypic plasticity is ubiquitous and generally regarded as a key mechanism for enabling
organisms to survive in the face of environmental change. Because no organism is infinitely …

Bacillus is a diverse bacterial genus characterized by cells growing aerobically and forming
dormant endospores. Although Bacillus species were some of the first bacteria ever …

The etiology of colorectal cancer (CRC) has been linked to deficiencies in mismatch repair
and adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) proteins, diet, inflammatory processes, and gut …

Background Multiple studies have demonstrated that early-life exposure to pets or siblings
affords protection against allergic disease; these associations are commonly attributed to the “…

Microbialization refers to the observed shift in ecosystem trophic structure towards higher
microbial biomass and energy use. On coral reefs, the proximal causes of microbialization are …

The intestinal microbiota is a fundamental factor that broadly influences physiology. Thus,
studies using transgenic animals should be designed to limit the confounding effects of …

Phenotypic loss is an important evolutionary force in nature but the mechanism(s) responsible
for loss remains unclear. We used both simulation and multiple-regression approaches to …

Why are some traits constitutive and others inducible? The term costs often appears in work
addressing this issue but may be ambiguously defined. This review distinguishes two …