Mar 19, 2020
Dr. Gilbert studies microbes and
recently examined an element of the bat microbiome.
In this podcast, he explains
- what the size of a bat's gut has to do with their different relationship with bacteria and what that implies about their evolution,
- how humans and bacteria have coevolved, and
- why this information may help manipulate microbiomes to further our health.
Dr. Jack Gilbert is a Professor
in the Department of Pediatrics and the Scripps Institution of
Oceanography at University of California, San Diego.
He specializes in microbial ecology and recently published a paper
specific to the bat microbiome. He explains what is significant and
interesting about the ecology of the bat and bacteria, namely that
unlike human animals, their short gut disallowed for coevolution
with bacteria in the same manner as humans. Rather the microbes
that live on bats depends on their external environment. He
explains more about how this is similar to birds and what the
implications are.
He carries this into a larger
picture of what goal scientists may have when studying microbial
ecology. Dr. Gilbert and his colleagues would like to gain a closer
understanding of how we can shape bacterial proportions by altering
their food.
They are trying to understand how we can selectively choose the
growth of certain organisms by what we feed them—how we can
change the course of a human infection by selectively promoting the
growth of specific microbes that might make the human host less
susceptible to the harm the infection causes.
For more, search research collections such as Google Scholar for his name and see his laboratory web site at http://www.gilbertlaboratory.com/