title: Composition and immunological significance of the upper respiratory tract microbiota.
abstract: The intestinal microbiota is essential for nutrient acquisition, immune development, and exclusion of invading pathogens. The upper respiratory tract (URT) microbiota is less well studied and does not appear to abide by many of the paradigms of the gastrointestinal tract. Decades of carriage studies in children have demonstrated that microbe-microbe competition and collusion occurs in the URT. Whether colonization with common pathogens (e.g., Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae) alters immune development or susceptibility to respiratory conditions is just beginning to be understood. Herein, we discuss the biogeography of the URT microbiota, the succession and evolution of the microbiota through the life course, and discuss the evidence for microbe-microbe interactions in colonization and infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.|Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
authors.forename: Louis Patrick
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5063-0447
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Schenck
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.|Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.|Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
authors.forename: Michael G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Surette
authors.affiliation: Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.|Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
authors.forename: Dawn M E
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Bowdish
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D006801:Humans; D064307:Microbiota; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology*
keywords: Bacteria-bacteria interactions; microbiota; upper respiratory tract