Summary
The human body is colonized by a complex microbial community with critical roles for health. This microbiota educates the immune system, helps digest our food, and protects us against pathogens. The diversity of microbes and encoded functions is significant. Our group showed that the gut microbiota is also a source of great chemical diversity, and that most of the compounds produced are unknown. Bacteria produce and respond to small molecules to communicate and adapt to their environment. Chemical signaling controls functions that are critical for host adaptation in most pathogens. Theref
