Potential role of gastro-intestinal microbiota in terrestrial snails

Abstract

This review provides an overview of the potential impact of the intestinal microbiota of land snails on their survival and functioning in a constantly changing environment. The diverse communities of microorganisms that inhabit both the outside and inside of animals in unique ecosystems help them to survive in constantly changing environmental conditions. A diverse microbial community is critical for digestion and nutrient delivery, but it is also important for animals that are adapting to new ecological niches. Molluscs are stable, multicellular in vivo systems that can be used to study the symbiotic relationships between microorganisms and animals, as well as how microbes affect an animal???s physiology and ecology. Furthermore, because of the vast number of species and the ecological diversity of molluscs, they allow for a better understanding of the variability of the microbiota associated with both their location in the host organism and the host in the environment. The microbiome is critical to a body’s homeostasis and survival in changing environmental conditions. This is true not only for terrestrial molluscs, but also for freshwater and marine species, which use the properties of the microorganisms that inhabit them to counteract the effects of stress.