Beyond Dysbiosis: The Gut Resistome, Virulome, and Microbial Persistence in Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration

The microbiota–gut–brain axis is increasingly recognized as a complex network through which intestinal microbial communities, host barrier function, immune responses, and neurological processes may interact. However, understanding of this axis has often focused on taxonomic changes and broad descriptions of dysbiosis, with less attention given to the specific microbial functions that may shape host physiology and disease processes. Antimicrobial resistance genes, microbial virulence determinants, bacterial amyloids, quorum sensing systems, biofilms, mobile genetic elements, and persistence mechanisms represent important functional features of microbial communities that may influence microbiota–gut–brain communication. Their potential relationships with intestinal barrier dysfunction, systemic inflammation, microglial activation, protein aggregation, and neurodegenerative disease progression warrant further investigation.This Research Topic aims to advance mechanistic understanding of how functionally active microbial pathways contribute to, respond to, or modify processes occurring along the microbiota–gut–brain axis. We welcome studies that move beyond taxonomic descriptions of dysbiosis to investigate the molecular and ecological functions of microbial communities and their relationships with host and neurological outcomes. Particular interest will be given to research examining how antimicrobial resistance genes, virulence determinants, bacterial amyloids, quorum sensing systems, biofilms, mobile genetic elements, and persistence mechanisms influence intestinal barrier integrity, systemic inflammatory responses, microglial activation, protein aggregation, and the progression of neurodegenerative disease.To gather further insights into these mechanisms, we welcome contributions addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:• Functional roles of antimicrobial-resistance genes carried by gut bacteria, including their acquisition and transfer within microbial communities, and their potential relationships with microbial virulence in the microbiota–gut–brain axis.• Bacterial amyloids and their relationships with protein aggregation and neurodegenerative disease progression• Quorum sensing systems, biofilm formation, and microbial persistence in gut microbial communities• Mobile genetic elements and the acquisition, maintenance, and dissemination of functionally relevant microbial traits• Metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses of functionally active microbial communities• Metabolomic approaches and host–microbe network biology applied to the microbiota–gut–brain axis• Artificial intelligence approaches for identifying microbial functions, interactions, and disease associated mechanisms• Experimental validation of microbiota–gut–brain mechanisms• Microbiome sparing interventions, including anti virulence agents, phages, CRISPR-based antimicrobials, and precision probiotics• Longitudinal and causal-inference approaches linking microbial functional changes to neuroinflammatory or neurodegenerative trajectories• Strain-resolved metagenomics and functional profiling to identify microbial traits associated with neurological outcomes.By bringing together microbial ecology, functional omics, host–microbe biology, experimental validation, computational approaches, and intervention research, this Research Topic seeks to clarify how specific microbial functions influence the microbiota–gut–brain axis and to support the development of targeted strategies that modulate harmful microbial activities while preserving the broader microbiome. Topic editors: Rohan Gupta, Dr. Manish Kumar Tripathi, Reetesh Kumar Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/86661/beyond-dysbiosis-the-gut-resistome-virulome-and-microbial-persistence-in-neuroinflammation-and-neurodegeneration