Fig 1.
The gut microbiota undergoes dynamic changes during host aging.
Changes in host intestinal cell composition and architecture occurring during aging are matched by a decrease in the microbiota taxonomic diversity. Age-related decrease in taxonomic diversity in the commensal community leads to larger population size for a few age-associated microbial species, increasing the chances for the evolution of novel potentially pathogenic microbial strains. OTU, Operational Taxonomic Unit. This figure was generated wtih Biorender.