Soil microbiomes help seed and shape the human gut microbiome, which in turn underpins our immune fitness, metabolism and mental health. Growing evidence shows that soil microbial community composition and functional capacity shift with ecosystem quality (e.g., from degraded to natural/biodiverse states), suggesting that restoring soil and ecosystem health can improve microbiome-mediated human health. Yet, it remains an outstanding challenge to define and measure exactly what constitutes a “healthy microbiome”, both in soils and humans. This talk will summarise the growing body of evidence that links soil, gut and human health via the microbiome pathway. I will also outline new research that is revealing shared alterations in the functional capacities of soil and gut microbiomes that occur in degraded soils and metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes.
Join Craig for a fascinating talk!
Dr Craig Liddicoat is a microbiome researcher based at Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia. Craig uses DNA-based tools to examine the roles of microbial communities in soils, plants, animals and humans to better understand the potential for both beneficial and harmful microbial connections between ecosystems and human health. Currently, he is investigating the restoration of health-promoting soil biodiversity within the ‘People, Cities and Nature’ research program based in Aotearoa New Zealand.
