Pole "Food and Digestive Ecosystems"

The microbial food and intestinal ecosystems and the functional interactions between food, microbiota and host

The « Ecosystems » pole of MICALIS considers food and human gut complex microbial ecosystems as fundamental elements for preservation of food quality and human health. Its main objectives are to understand mechanisms that govern maintenance of homeostasis of food-microbiota-host interactions and conditions that disrupt this equilibrium and thereby potentially contribute to the onset or chronicity of various immune, metabolic or degenerative pathologies currently rising in modern and emerging economies. The work of the “Ecosystems” pole is directed towards structural and functional dynamic of microbial ecosystems of the food chain, in one hand, and on the cross-talk between microorganisms and human cells, and in a more general sense, on interactions between microbiota and human physiology on the other hand.

Beyond the understanding of the impact of food-borne and/or gut microorganisms on gut physiology of healthy individuals, the work covers the understanding of the potential role of the commensal microbiota in serious, frequent and/or incurable chronic pathologies of unknown etiology. This work aims to develop tools for diagnosis and prognosis as well as preventive nutrition and innovative therapeutic applications based on the principle that a modification of microbiota parameters could contribute to maintain or restore a healthy global context.
The pole « Ecosystems » is composed of 8 research teams (Amipem, ChemSyBio, FME, FInE, Probihôte, MIHA, PhylHom, NutriPhage) working on 3 major topics:

• Normobiosis, dysbiosis and modeling of ecosystems relevant to human health-nutrition

• Microbe-host cross-talk in human health-nutrition

• Nutrional and therapeutic innovations

The thematic department " Food and Digestive Ecosystems " is animated by Philippe Langella.