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Editorial
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Editorial - Special issue: Evolutionary Ecology of Human-associated Microbes
Determining the evolutionary mechanisms, genomic outcomes and functional consequences of adaptation is of paramount importance for our understanding of the nature of evolution, and for predicting the evolutionary responses of organisms in the face of the current and future global changes. Microorganisms which are associated with humans (as members of the human microbiome, or associated with domesticated plants or animals) provide ideal models to study adaptation and specialisation. These microbes are diverse and many possess outstanding experimental assets, such as small genomes and membership in relatively simple multi-species communities (Gladieux et al., 2014; Rosshart et al., 2019; Seybold et al., 2020). In addition, studying microbial evolution in human-associated environments is effective because population genetic processes (i.e. genetic drift and selection) are often strong and recent (Gladieux et al., 2014; Ropars & Giraud, 2022). Furthermore, human-associated microbes often have important impacts on human health as members of our microbiomes, as human pathogens or as associates of food production for crop microbiomes, crop pathogens and domesticated microorganisms (Caron et al., 2021; Chow et al., 2020; Davenport et al., 2017; Fisher et al., 2020; Seybold et al., 2020; Wolfe et al., 2014).
This special issue covers a broad range of topics related to the evolutionary ecology of human-associated microbes, with methods ranging from population genetics to metagenomics and evolutionary genomics, as well as complementary field and lab studies (in vitro and in vivo). The study organisms include domesticated microorganisms (fungi and bacteria), microorganisms thriving in anthropic environments, host-associated microbiota, crop pathogens and animal pathogens. Together these articles underline the huge impact of the anthropogenic environment in microbial evolution, including the emergence and spread of pathogens as well as the benefits provided by domesticated or mutualistic fungi and bacteria.
