title: Response from Jeffrey I. Gordon et al.: Commensal bacteria make a difference.
abstract: The importance of the gut microbiota has been recognized since the days of Pasteur. What makes today different from yesterday, and tomorrow so exciting, is that we now have the tools to identify the molecular mechanisms that regulate assembly of the microbiota and determine how its components affect postnatal mammalian development and adult physiology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Pharmacology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA. jgordon@molecool.wustl.edu
authors.forename: Jeffrey I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.forename: Thaddeus S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Stappenbeck
authors.forename: Lora V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Hooper
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism*; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D004064:Digestive System / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D019936:Probiotics