Beyond Dysbiosis: The Evolving Role of the Gut Microbiome in Intestinal Health and Bowel Disorders

The gut microbiome research field has expanded rapidly, revealing the intricate symbiosis between host and microbial communities in maintaining intestinal homeostasis. For decades, the concept of dysbiosis, representing an altered or imbalanced microbial composition, has served as the primary model linking microbial community changes to gastrointestinal disorders. However, growing evidence from metagenomic sequencing, metabolomics, and longitudinal cohort analyses demonstrates that intestinal health cannot be fully understood through dysbiosis alone. Current studies emphasize that microbial functions, inter-kingdom interactions, and host responses collectively determine disease phenotypes, highlighting the need for a refined framework that captures microbial ecology’s complexity and functional relevance in gut conditions.This Research Topic aims to advance the understanding of the gut microbiome’s active role in shaping intestinal physiology and pathology. It seeks to explore mechanistic pathways that surpass descriptive analyses of microbial imbalance, focusing instead on dynamic host–microbe relationships, resilience, and translational potential. Central objectives include elucidating microbial contributions to intestinal integrity, epithelial and immune modulation, metabolite production, and disease recovery. Through integrating bacterial, fungal, viral, and archaeal perspectives with host genetics, diet, and environmental influences, the Research Topic aspires to bridge fundamental microbiome science with clinical and therapeutic applications in digestive health.To gather further insights into the evolving role of the gut microbiome in intestinal disorders and health, we welcome original research articles, reviews, mini reviews, and other article types accepted by the journal addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:o Functional and metabolic contributions of gut microbes to intestinal homeostasiso Microbiome resilience, stability, and recovery dynamics in health and diseaseo Host genetic and immune determinants shaping microbiome composition and functiono Diet, lifestyle, and environmental modifiers of gut microbial ecologyo The virome, mycobiome, and archaeome in intestinal disease pathogenesiso Mucosal immunology and epithelial barrier roles in microbiome–host crosstalko Microbial metabolites and their regulatory functions in intestinal physiologyo Gut–brain axis and enteric nervous system interactions with the microbiomeo Innovative interventions e.g. fecal microbiota transplantation, phage therapy, and microbial therapeuticso Systems biology, machine learning, and multi omics approaches in microbiome researcho Comparative and animal model studies of digestive microbiomesStudies involving vertebrate model organisms, including murine, zebrafish, and agricultural animals, as well as invertebrate models such as Caenorhabditis elegans and Galleria mellonella, are also encouraged. Topic editors: Lizbeth Sayavedra, Enriqueta Garcia-Gutierrez, Silvia Melgar Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/81423/beyond-dysbiosis-the-evolving-role-of-the-gut-microbiome-in-intestinal-health-and-bowel-disorders