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From the earliest days of medical microbiology,;"pathogens", and "hosts" have been pitted against each other in our classrooms and research labs. War metaphors for describing the immune system are still staples in our teaching and our writing. Since the microbiome revolution, prominent microbiologists, such as Arturo Casadevall, Thomas Bosch, and Martin Blaser, have argued for a lexicon that is more inclusive of the multi-faceted relationships we have with microbes. Should we replace the term "pathogen" with "amphibiont"? Refer to the human + microbiome as a holobiont? As we now know, potential pathogens may also shape animal development, train our immune systems, and much more. This means that most microbes causing disease are indeed, opportunists, if you think about it. What occurs is more of a pas de deux, or, a pas de mille, if you consider all the microbial and host factors. How should we be teaching, then?
