Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Mar;109(3):513-517.
doi: 10.1002/JLB.4RI0920-599.

Historical Perspective: Metchnikoff and the intestinal microbiome

Allan McI Mowat  1
Affiliations

Historical Perspective: Metchnikoff and the intestinal microbiome

Allan McI Mowat. J Leukoc Biol. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

Metchnikoff's essay, Intestinal Bacteriotherapy, was written when the study of microbiology was still in its infancy and few intestinal diseases had been ascribed to a specific bacterial infection. Metchnikoff offered perceptive ideas that have become standard in today's science. This Historical Perspectives commentary examines how Metchnikoff's article influenced our field. An accompanying editorial by Siamon Gordon explores this topic further and describes the relevance of Metchnikoff's work to the current Covid-19 infection. We also include a translation of this fundamental article by Metchnikoff, as presented by Claudine Neyen.

Keywords: Metchnikoff; host response; intestinal disease; microbiology; microbiome; microbiota.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

None
Graphical abstract
FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Title page of the original publication in which the essay was first published
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Turnbaugh PJ, Ley RE, Hamady M, Fraser-Liggett CM, Knight R, Gordon JI. The human microbiome project. Nature. 2007;449:804-810. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Donaldson GP, Lee SM, Mazmanian SK. Gut biogeography of the bacterial microbiota. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2016;14:20-32. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Koh A, Backhed F. From association to causality: the role of the gut microbiota and its functional products on host metabolism. Mol Cell. 2020;78:584-596. - PubMed
    1. Durack J, Lynch SV. The gut microbiome: relationships with disease and opportunities for therapy. J Exp Med. 2019;216:20-40. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Kamada N, Chen GY, Inohara N, Nunez G. Control of pathogens and pathobionts by the gut microbiota. Nat Immunol. 2013;14:685-690. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Personal name as subject