Lung diseases due to infection and dysbiosis affect hundreds of millions of people world-wide. Microbial communities at the airway mucosal barrier are conserved and highly ordered, reflecting symbiosis and co-evolution with human host factors. We show here the results of the first systematic culture and whole-genome sequencing of the principal airway bacterial species. We match the gene content of bacterial isolates to human transcripts and metabolites expressed late in airway epithelial differentiation, identifying pathways that can sustain host interactions with the microbiota. Our results provide a systematic basis for decrypting interactions between commensals, pathogens, and mucosal immunity in lung diseases of global significance.

Lung diseases due to infection and dysbiosis affect hundreds of millions of people world-wide. Microbial communities at the airway mucosal barrier are conserved and highly ordered, reflecting symbiosis and co-evolution with human host factors. We show here the results of the first systematic culture and whole-genome sequencing of the principal airway bacterial species. We match the gene content of bacterial isolates to human transcripts and metabolites expressed late in airway epithelial differentiation, identifying pathways that can sustain host interactions with the microbiota. Our results provide a systematic basis for decrypting interactions between commensals, pathogens, and mucosal immunity in lung diseases of global significance.

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