[thedoc (OP)]

Any old bacteria won't do: to be healthy, an animal requires a unique consortium of microbes in its intestines, US scientists have revealed.

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[CliffordK]

Interesting.

There was a NPR special recently about human body flora.  One of the things they discussed is that each person's (and each community's) flora is different.

Perhaps in the future, scientists will come up with an ideal flora makeup, far beyond just eating unpasteurized yogurt.

If we start colonizing the moon and space, perhaps there will be an opportunity to decide which microbes to bring along, and which ones are best left home on Earth.  It is a good point that bacteria is as important as Eukaryotes in any terraforming or habitat construction.