Natural microbiota–based mouse models: A platform to fast-track translation of fundamental discoveries into the clinic

Conventional laboratory mice are invaluable tools in biomedical research, but their restricted microbial complexity limits their translational relevance. Several streams of evidence now indicate that (re)colonizing laboratory mice with a naturally evolved microbiota more faithfully recapitulates key features of the human physiological response. Here, we outline where natural microbiota–based models can improve the investigation of human disease, and how findings in such models bear on several aspects of translational biomedical research.