Friday June 24, 2022
PhysOrg —
As we know, our genes can greatly affect our health. We can inherit genetic disorders and defects as well as positive traits from our parents. But our genes are not the only players contributing to our health.
Our bodies also contain bacteria, fungi, viruses and other microorganisms, which in turn have their own sets of genes.
These microorganisms are called the microbiota. Most of them are completely harmless, and a lot of them are even useful and necessary. Together the microbiota and their genes form a microbiome. These can also affect our health.
You don’t need to learn this, but the microbiota genes and our own are known as a hologenome, and together we and they form a holobiont.
However, the story may not end there. During a parasite infection, things get a little more complicated.