title: The biogeography of polymicrobial infection.
abstract: Microbial communities are spatially organized in both the environment and the human body. Although patterns exhibited by these communities are described by microbial biogeography, this discipline has previously only considered large-scale, global patterns. By contrast, the fine-scale positioning of a pathogen within an infection site can greatly alter its virulence potential. In this Review, we highlight the importance of considering spatial positioning in the study of polymicrobial infections and discuss targeting biogeography as a therapeutic strategy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences, Institute of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Center for Infectious Disease, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station A5000, Austin, Texas 78712, USA.
authors.forename: Apollo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stacy
authors.affiliation: Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK.
authors.forename: Luke
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: McNally
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences, Institute of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Center for Infectious Disease, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station A5000, Austin, Texas 78712, USA.
authors.forename: Sophie E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Darch
authors.affiliation: School of Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0230, USA.
authors.forename: Sam P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences, Institute of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Center for Infectious Disease, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station A5000, Austin, Texas 78712, USA.
authors.forename: Marvin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Whiteley
mesh_terms: D018441:Biofilms; D060085:Coinfection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D004848:Epithelium; D006801:Humans; D058974:Phylogeography; D013559:Symbiosis