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HOME > J. Microbiol > Volume 52(3); 2014 > Article
Review
REVIEW] Mechanisms of Synergy in Polymicrobial Infections
Justine L. Murray , Jodi L. Connell , Apollo Stacy , Keith H. Turner , Marvin Whiteley
Journal of Microbiology 2014;52(3):188-199.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-014-4067-3
Published online: March 1, 2014
Department of Molecular Biosciences, Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, Center for Infectious Disease, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
Corresponding author:  Keith H. Turner , Tel: +1-512-471-5493, 
Marvin Whiteley , Tel: +1-512-471-5493, 
Received: 3 February 2014   • Accepted: 6 February 2014
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Abstract

Communities of microbes can live almost anywhere and contain many different species. Interactions between members of these communities often determine the state of the habitat in which they live. When these habitats include sites on the human body, these interactions can affect health and disease. Polymicrobial synergy can occur during infection, in which the combined effect of two or more microbes on disease is worse than seen with any of the individuals alone. Powerful genomic methods are increasingly used to study microbial communities, including metagenomics to reveal the members and genetic content of a community and metatranscriptomics to describe the activities of community members. Recent efforts focused toward a mechanistic understanding of these interactions have led to a better appreciation of the precise bases of polymicrobial synergy in communities containing bacteria, eukaryotic microbes, and/or viruses. These studies have benefited from advances in the development of in vivo models of polymicrobial infection and modern techniques to profile the spatial and chemical bases of intermicrobial communication. This review describes the breadth of mechanisms microbes use to interact in ways that impact pathogenesis and techniques to study polymicrobial communities.

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    REVIEW] Mechanisms of Synergy in Polymicrobial Infections
    J. Microbiol. 2014;52(3):188-199.   Published online March 1, 2014
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-014-4067-3
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