The gut, conductor of our health: putting the microbiota in the spotlight, a symposium report.

This report summarizes key takeaways from the 11th International Yakult Symposium held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in October 2024. It provides an overview of insights obtained by the latest basic and clinical research, meta-analyses, and omics research, underscoring the relevance of the exposome, the outer and inner factors to which our bodies are exposed throughout our entire lifespan, in shaping the microbiota. The symposium addressed external factors such as diet (including probiotics and novel fermented foods), additives, pharmacologic agents, and physical environment, as well as the internal crosstalk between tissue or organ-specific microbial communities and their interactions with immune mediators, metabolic and neuroendocrine hormones, and their receptors. Collectively, the data presented during the symposium reinforced the understanding that health and disease are the result of the (im)balance of a tightly interconnected network rather than isolated axes. This was illustrated using examples of inflammatory and infectious diseases of the brain, mouth, gynaecologic tract, lungs, as well as of metabolic and mental states. Finally, a roundtable discussion on the current state of clinical trials in nutrition, including challenges and solutions was featured. The conclusion indicated that there is room for new developments and that hurdles need to be overcome, requiring continued collaboration across scientific disciplines.