This illustration depicts a mosaic tile of factors which lead to gut colonization for a special issue on gut-dysbiosis during childhood development. Disrupted microbial homeostasis (dysbiosis) is mechanistically connected to the pathogenesis and severity of other pediatric disorders.

A younger patient is viewed building a mosaic of the gastrointestinal system. Tiles depict modulators which promote eubosis and microbial diversity, modulators which increase risk for gut dysbiosis, and gut-organ axis which shape its role in neural, endocrine, immune, humoral and metabolic disorders.

Art direction by Ashley Cole.