Two's company, three's a crowd: Exploring how host-parasite-microbiota interactions may influence disease susceptibility and conservation of wildlife.

A large body of research has demonstrated that host-associated microbiota-the archaeal, bacterial, fungal and viral communities residing on and inside organisms-are critical to host health (Cho & Blaser, 2012). While the vast majority of these studies focus on humans or model organisms in laboratory settings (Pascoe, Hauffe, Marchesi, & Perkins, 2017), they provide important conceptual evidence that the disruption of host-associated microbial communities (termed "dysbiosis") among wild animals may reduce host fitness and survival under natural environmental conditions. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.