Elemental Ratios Link Environmental Change and Human Health
Elemental Ratios Link Environmental Change and Human Health
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DOI：
10.3389/fevo.2019.00378
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发表时间：
2019-10
影响因子：
3
通讯作者：
Rachel E. Paseka;A. Bratt;Keeley L MacNeill;A. Burian;C. See
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Rachel E. Paseka;A. Bratt;Keeley L MacNeill;A. Burian;C. See
人类从根本上改变了全球范围内多种元素的循环。这些变化影响到陆地和水生生态系统的结构和功能，对人类健康产生许多影响。大多数先前的研究将地球化学变化与人类健康联系起来，评估了孤立的单一元素的影响。然而，单一元素浓度变化的生物影响往往取决于它与其他元素的相对平衡。这种多元素之间的平衡是生态化学计量学的重点，它强调了元素比例在所有系统和组织规模的生物功能中的重要性。因此，生态化学计量学是一个很有前途的框架，为研究全球变化与元素循环和人类健康之间的联系提供信息。我们综合的证据表明，元素比例通过发生在两个尺度上的生物过程将全球变化与人类健康联系起来：在环境（自然生态系统和食物系统）和人体内。环境中的元素比例影响生产力和生物多样性的关键生态系统过程，这两者都有助于食物，毒素，过敏原和寄生虫的生产。饮食中的元素比例影响人体内的过程，包括免疫系统、寄生虫和非致病微生物组的功能和相互作用。总的来说，这些化学计量效应导致了广泛的非传染性和传染性疾病。通过描述化学计量机制连接全球变化，生态过程和人类健康，我们希望能激发未来的经验和理论研究这一主题。
Humans have fundamentally altered the cycling of multiple elements on a global scale. These changes impact the structure and function of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, with many implications for human health. Most prior studies linking biogeochemical changes to human health have evaluated the effects of single elements in isolation. However, the biological impact of shifts in the concentration of a single element often depend on its relative balance with other elements. This balance among multiple elements is the focus of ecological stoichiometry, which highlights the importance of elemental ratios in biological function across all systems and scales of organization. Consequently, ecological stoichiometry is a promising framework to inform research on the links between global changes to elemental cycles and human health. We synthesize evidence that elemental ratios link global change with human health through biological processes occurring at two scales: in the environment (natural ecosystems and food systems) and within the human body. Elemental ratios in the environment impact the key ecosystem processes of productivity and biodiversity, both of which contribute to the production of food, toxins, allergens, and parasites. Elemental ratios in diet impact processes within the human body, including the function and interactions of the immune system, parasites, and the non-pathogenic microbiome. Collectively, these stoichiometric effects contribute to a wide range of non-infectious and infectious diseases. By describing stoichiometric mechanisms linking global change, ecological processes, and human health, we hope to inspire future empirical and theoretical research on this theme.