Gut commensal bacteria in biological invasions

INTRODUCTION The interaction between the host and host-associated microbial communities has been an area of increasing interest during recent decades.In most animal species,microflora is known to inhabit the gut,surface or sur­roundings(Dillon&Dillon 2004;Engel&Moran 2013;Kovatcheva-Datchary et al.2013).The microflora en­compasses a range of microbial relationships,including pathogenic,obligately mutualistic and commensal rela­tionships.During the past few decades,beneficial micro­organisms have received much attention due to a myri­ad of mutualistic effects(e.g.modifying a nutrient-poor diet,protecting the host from parasites or pathogens,af­fecting the mating and breeding of hosts,and producing insect pheromones).Such studies have aided our under­standing of the diversification and evolutionary suc­cess of animals(Flórez et al.2015;Paniagua Voirol et al.2018).Furthermore,technological applications have been identified:for example,efficient microbial cellu­lases from termites are presently being used in industrial processes(Scharf&Tartar 2008).