Fish Microbiota: The Silent Majority Speaks at Last!

Gut microbes outnumber the cells of their hosts by a 10:1 ratio. In humans, those microbes can provide up to 250,000 unique genes that play a role in improving host metabolic and immune functions, for instance. My talk will address the indispensable functions of the microbiota, and more importantly focus on the adaptative potential that microbiota provides to its host. These evolutionary and ecologically relevant aspects will be discussed with special emphasis on the current knowledge of host-microbiota interactions in fish.