Rees, Tobias, Bosch, Thomas and Douglas, Angela E. (2018) How the microbiome challenges our concept of self. PLOS Biology, 16 (2). e2005358. DOI 10.1371/journal.pbio.2005358.

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Abstract

Today, the three classical biological explanations of the individual self––the immune system, the brain, the genome––are being challenged by the new field of microbiome research. Evidence shows that our resident microbes orchestrate the adaptive immune system, influence the brain, and contribute more gene functions than our own genome. The realization that humans are not individual, discrete entities but rather the outcome of ever-changing interactions with microorganisms has consequences beyond the biological disciplines. In particular, it calls into question the assumption that distinctive human traits set us apart from all other animals––and therefore also the traditional disciplinary divisions between the arts and the sciences.

Document Type:	Article
Keywords:	Microbiome, Genomic medicine, Human genetics, Microbial genetics, Acquired immune System, Behavior, Cognition, Genomics
Research affiliation:	Kiel University > Kiel Marine Science OceanRep > The Future Ocean - Cluster of Excellence Kiel University
Refereed:	Yes
Open Access Journal?:	Yes
Publisher:	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Projects:	Future Ocean
Date Deposited:	31 Jul 2018 10:48
Last Modified:	08 Feb 2021 07:35
URI:	https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/43856

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