The gut microbiome: Closing the door to food allergens

In the past two decades, a wealth of research has linked the rising prevalence of food allergy to a dysbiotic microbiota induced by environmental and societal influences inherent in our 21st century lifestyles. In this chapter, we explore how modern lifestyle choices have changed the composition and function of the commensal microbiota. Beyond alteration to the individual taxa which make up the early-life microbiota and are crucial to immune system development, particular consideration has been given to the functional characteristics of the microbiota and the key metabolites which regulate susceptibility to food allergy. Lastly, we discuss how our understanding of the microbiota is informing the development of new microbiome modulating therapeutics to combat this generational increase.