DNA and RNA sequence analysis enable researchers to form a total overview of which species of microorganisms and parasites live with humans, animals and plants. It is not just in our gut where microorganisms are playing a role in our digestion. Also on the skin and all mucous membranes, in the mouth and all the way down into the hair follicles, we live together with parasites and microorganisms which help to shape our lives and our development.

This knowledge makes it possible to see organisms in a far more holistic perspective, which provides a far better understanding of the factors that have evolutionarily shaped the species as they now appear in nature.

In this podcast, Science Journalist Jens Degett talks to Professor Marcus Thomas Pius Gilbert from the Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics (CEH) at the University of Copenhagen. The center has recently received DKK 67.7 million from the Danish National Research Foundation.

Photo credit: Jens Degett