User:TKenn2/Dysbiosis

Dysbiosis (also called dysbacteriosis) is a generally applied term used to describe an imbalance in microbiota or a general loss of homeostasis associated with shifts in microbiome function and/or composition. While some sources attempt to specify on the nature of the dysfunction by specifically relating the term to particular microbial ecology phenomena there is a lack of consensus of the meaning and use of the term dysbiosis within microbiome science. The use of term is somewhat controversial within the field having been criticized for its lack of explanatory power in tweezing out medically translatable causal relationships. Despite this controversy and inability to determine the direction of the association many sources associate disease with dysbiosis. Although the term is most commonly applied to human disease and the gut microbiome, the term has also been used to refer to plant associated microbial communities.