The human microbiome, the microbial communities colonizing the human body, has a myriad of ever-expanding roles, including: the digestion of food, brain function and mental health through the gut-brain axis, modulating the immune system and immune diseases, protecting against pathogens, inhibiting tumour progression, the list goes on.

The introduction of next generation sequencing, as a tool to study complex ecosystems, has opened new avenues of study of the role of the microbiome in physiology, microbiology and pathology. Sequencing techniques, have revealed nucleic acids from microorganisms even in parts of the body originally defined as sterile. The microbiome is very dynamic, it changes as a function of diet, mood, the environment, and medication. Furthermore, the microbiome has large variability among individuals due to genetic differences and lifestyle choices.

Clearly, the microbiome can potentially impact on many important areas of biology and medicine. However, the areas with the largest impact and with a possibility of designing intervention or diagnostic methods are yet to be defined.

We invite researchers working in the field of microbiology and the microbiome to contribute to this special issue via Editorial Manager. When submitting, please specify that you are submitting to this collection when prompted.

Keywords: microbiome, metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, dysbiosis, holobiont, fecal microbiome transplantation, microbial interactions, host-microbiome interactions, microbiome of bodily compartments, medical ecology, microbial biomarkers, community composition

Submission deadline: 30 November 2026

Contacts:

Gábor Kardos, MD, PhD

University of Debrecen, One Health Institute

email: kg@med.unideb.hu

 

Peter Bai, PhD, DSc

University of Debrecen, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Chemistry

email: baip@med.unideb.hu