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Although social interactions are known to drive pathogen transmission, the contributions of socially transmissible host-associated mutualists and commensals to host health and disease remain poorly explored. We use the concept of the social microbiome-the microbial metacommunity of a social network of hosts-to analyze the implications of social microbial transmission for host health and disease. We investigate the contributions of socially transmissible microbes to both eco-evolutionary microbiome community processes (colonization resistance, the evolution of virulence, and reactions to ecological disturbance) and microbial transmission-based processes (transmission of microbes with metabolic and immune effects, inter-specific transmission, transmission of antibiotic-resistant microbes, and transmission of viruses). We consider the implications of social microbial transmission for communicable and non-communicable diseases and evaluate the importance of a socially transmissible component underlying canonically non-communicable diseases. The social transmission of mutualists and commensals may play a significant, under-appreciated role in the social determinants of health and may act as a hidden force in social evolution.

Original publication

DOI

10.1016/j.cell.2023.12.014

Type

Journal article

Journal

Cell

Publication Date

04/01/2024

Volume

187

Pages

17 - 43

Keywords

antibiotic resistance, antibiotics, communicable diseases, immunity, microbial transmission, microbiota, non-communicable diseases, social determinants of health, social evolution, social networks, social transmission, social virome, Animals, Humans, Microbiota, Noncommunicable Diseases, Social Factors, Symbiosis, Virulence