Dheilly NM, Bolnick D, Bordenstein S, Brindley PJ, Figueres C, Holmes EC, Martinez Martinez J, Phillips AJ, Poulin R, Rosario K (2017). Parasite Microbiome Project: Systematic investigation of microbiome dynamics within and across parasite-host interactions mSystems 2(4)

Dheilly NM, Bolnick D, Bordenstein S, Brindley PJ, Figueres C, Holmes EC, Martinez Martinez J, Phillips AJ, Poulin R, Rosario K (2017). Parasite Microbiome Project: Systematic investigation of microbiome dynamics within and across parasite-host interactions mSystems 2(4) http://msystems.asm.org/content/2/4/e00050-17
The field of parasitology is being propelled into a new era in which microbes, associated with the host or with the parasite have been shown to participate in host-parasite interaction. We now need to understand their role from an evolutionary and functional point of view in order to leverage these discoveries for the development of new effective control methods and therapeutics. Dr. Dheilly has rallied a team of researchers with complementary expertise in parasitology of model and non-model species, immunology, microbial ecology, and virology, and together we are launching the Parasite Microbiome Project, to characterize the role of microbes in host-parasite interactions. She believes that only such a coordinated effort, and collaboration with the International Microbiome Initiative, will allow the field of parasitology to benefit fully from the recent advances in microbiome research. The commentary below was recently published in mSystems and will serve as a call to interested researchers to join the team, and to invite foundations and national funding agencies to participate in this collaborative effort.

Dheilly et al 2017 mSystems PMP-xwnvrw