The Journal of Theoretical Fimpology. Volume 3, Issue 1: e-20050615-3-1-15. August 26, 2015 (www.fimpology.com)
Evolutionary Background Entities at the Cellular and Subcellular Levels in the Human Body
Shu-dong Yin
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8661-6889
Cory H. E. R. & C. Inc., Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Email: [email protected]
Abstract
Since the extensive application of culture-independent approaches to the life sciences in the 1990s, the data of microorganisms in the human body has been increasing at an unprecedented pace, which greatly enriched our previous knowledge of the human body–associated microorganisms. During the past years, partial human microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses and fungi have been studied or reviewed separately according to anatomical sites, such as the skin, oral cavity, gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract, genitourinary tract, vagina, and amniotic cavity. In recent evolutionary theories, the relationship between animals and their environments has been interpreted as interactions between animals and environmental evolutionary entities at the same and/or different evolutionary levels; evolutionary entities of lower levels are hypothesized to be evolutionary background entities of those at higher levels. Therefore, understanding the normal existence of evolutionary background entities—including microorganisms in the human body—has become essential for elucidating ecological and evolutionary relationships between humans and host-associated evolutionary background entities. Recently, host-associated microentities, or evolutionary background entities (EBEs), including eukaryotic and prokaryotic unicellular organisms (bacteria, archaea, fungi) and subcellular entities such as viruses/phages and extracellular vesicles in vertebrate and invertebrate animals, have been partially summarized. In this paper, the author briefly reviews evolutionary background entities (EBEs) at the cellular and subcellular levels in the human body.