Locomotion is important to many complex behaviors such as foraging, mating and evading predators, and is closely related to metabolism. The gut microbiome is known to modulate various aspects of host physiology, including behavior and metabolism. Studies in mice have previously implicated microbial involvement in locomotion; however, potential pathways linking bacteria to motor behaviors have been relatively unclear. Due to the similarities in locomotion between arthropods and mammals, we set out to examine if the microbiota modulates locomotion in flies and determine the underlying mechanisms for this regulation.

The human gut microbiota of healthy young adults gradually recovers after a combination of last-resort antibiotics intervention. However, the gut microbiota exhibits a mild yet long-lasting foot print after the treatment. After the antibiotic exposure the survival and colonization odds for each microbe depend on its resistance gene and virulence factors repertoire.

Bacterial infections of the central nervous system (CNS) are devastating with neonates being the population at the highest risk. Preventive measures, such as hygiene regimens and antibiotic intrapartum prophylaxis have decreased the incidence of neonatal CNS infections. However, mortality rates remain substantial and serious long-term sequelae, such as deafness or mental retardation are frequently observed. Knowledge about the pathogenesis CNS infection as a result of mucosal pathogen exposure is scant, mostly because of a lack of suitable animal models. And that´s where our story started…

Last year, tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) killed 1.5 million people, overtaking HIV/ AIDS – this reflects massive advances in treatment of HIV, which haven’t been matched in the treatment of TB. Although almost all cases of TB are curable, the treatment is extremely long, and no progress has been made in shortening treatment in 40 years, since the introduction of the drug rifampicin: which reduced the regimen duration from 18 to 6 months.

Bridging the knowledge gap between the described and estimated total fungal species is accompanied by new challenges and will require new techniques. Single-cell genomics can help.