[SEMINAR] A microbial perspective on animal development and behaviour

Title: A microbial perspective on animal development and behaviour

From: University of Kiel, Germany 

Abstract: Animals have evolved within the framework of the microbes and are constantly exposed to diverse microbiota. This dominance of the microbial world is forcing all fields of biology to question some of their most basic premises, with developmental biology being no exception. While animals under laboratory conditions can develop and live without microbes, they are far from normal, and would not survive under natural conditions, where their fitness would be strongly compromised. Since much of the undescribed biodiversity on Earth is microbial, any consideration of animal development in the absence of the recognition of microbes will be incomplete. Here, using the ancestral metazoan Hydra as model, I will show that animal development and behaviour may never have been autonomous, rather it requires transient or persistent interactions with the microbial world. I propose that to formulate a comprehensive understanding of embryogenesis and post-embryonic development, we must recognize that symbiotic microbes provide important developmental signals and contribute in significant ways to phenotype production. By integrating the microbiome perspective into our understanding of evolution and function, we gain richer insights into the dynamic interplay that drives health, adaptation, and the very fabric of life itself.

Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 3. Good health and well-being