National Academies Press: OpenBook
« Previous: Appendix B: Agenda
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Acronyms." Institute of Medicine. 2012. The Social Biology of Microbial Communities: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13500.
×

Appendix C

Acronyms

AGR Amitermes-Gnathamitermes-Rhynchotermes
AMD acid mine drainage
ATP adenosine triphosphate

CCA

canonical correspondence analysis

CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CDI contact-dependent growth inhibition

EHEC

enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli

EPS extracellular polymeric substance

FDH

formate dehydrogenase

HA

hemagglutinin

HMP Human Microbiome Project

IBD

inflammatory bowel disease

IOM Institute of Medicine

LCA

last common ancestor

MetaHIT

Metagenomics of the Human Intestinal Tract

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Acronyms." Institute of Medicine. 2012. The Social Biology of Microbial Communities: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13500.
×

NA

neuraminidase

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NEC neonatal necrotizing entercolitis
NIH National Institutes of Health
NMDS nonmetric multidimensional scaling

ORCA

Ocean Research and Conservation Association

PCA

principal component analysis

PCR polymerase chain reaction

rRNA

ribosomal ribonucleic acid

Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Acronyms." Institute of Medicine. 2012. The Social Biology of Microbial Communities: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13500.
×
Page 585
Suggested Citation:"Appendix C: Acronyms." Institute of Medicine. 2012. The Social Biology of Microbial Communities: Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13500.
×
Page 586
Next: Appendix D: Glossary »
The Social Biology of Microbial Communities: Workshop Summary Get This Book
×
Buy Paperback | $74.00 Buy Ebook | $59.99
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

Beginning with the germ theory of disease in the 19th century and extending through most of the 20th century, microbes were believed to live their lives as solitary, unicellular, disease-causing organisms . This perception stemmed from the focus of most investigators on organisms that could be grown in the laboratory as cellular monocultures, often dispersed in liquid, and under ambient conditions of temperature, lighting, and humidity. Most such inquiries were designed to identify microbial pathogens by satisfying Koch's postulates.3 This pathogen-centric approach to the study of microorganisms produced a metaphorical "war" against these microbial invaders waged with antibiotic therapies, while simultaneously obscuring the dynamic relationships that exist among and between host organisms and their associated microorganisms—only a tiny fraction of which act as pathogens.

Despite their obvious importance, very little is actually known about the processes and factors that influence the assembly, function, and stability of microbial communities. Gaining this knowledge will require a seismic shift away from the study of individual microbes in isolation to inquiries into the nature of diverse and often complex microbial communities, the forces that shape them, and their relationships with other communities and organisms, including their multicellular hosts.

On March 6 and 7, 2012, the Institute of Medicine's (IOM's) Forum on Microbial Threats hosted a public workshop to explore the emerging science of the "social biology" of microbial communities. Workshop presentations and discussions embraced a wide spectrum of topics, experimental systems, and theoretical perspectives representative of the current, multifaceted exploration of the microbial frontier. Participants discussed ecological, evolutionary, and genetic factors contributing to the assembly, function, and stability of microbial communities; how microbial communities adapt and respond to environmental stimuli; theoretical and experimental approaches to advance this nascent field; and potential applications of knowledge gained from the study of microbial communities for the improvement of human, animal, plant, and ecosystem health and toward a deeper understanding of microbial diversity and evolution. The Social Biology of Microbial Communities: Workshop Summary further explains the happenings of the workshop.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!