Holobiont

Definition

A holobiont is an assemblage of a host and the many other species living in or around it, which together form a discrete ecological unit through symbiosis, though there is controversy over its discreteness. The components of a holobiont are individual species or bionts, while the combined genome of all bionts is the hologenome. The holobiont concept was initially introduced by the German theoretical biologist Adolf Meyer-Abich in 1943, and then apparently independently by Dr. Lynn Margulis in her 1991 book Symbiosis as a Source of Evolutionary Innovation. The concept has evolved since the original formulations. Holobionts include the host, virome, microbiome, and any other organisms which contribute in some way to the functioning of the whole. Well-studied holobionts include reef-building corals and humans.

Related concepts

Actinomycetota Aliivibrio Amoeboid movement Ant colony Antarctic microorganism Anthozoa Arbuscular mycorrhiza Archaea Aristotle Ascomycota Asthma-related microbes Azotobacter Bacillota Bacillus Bacteria Bacteria collective motion Bacterial motility Bacteroidota Basidiomycota Bat virome Biofilm Biohybrid microswimmer Biological dark matter Biological pump Biology Biomass partitioning Biome Bioremediation Buchnera (bacterium)Carbon flux Cetacean microbiome Coevolution Commensalism Coral Coral holobiont Coral microbiome Crab holobiont Cyanobacteria DNA sequencing Dark-field microscopy Deep biosphere Dinoflagellate Dysbiosis Ecological unit Endolithic Endophyte Endosphere Endosymbiosis theory Epichloë Epiphyte Ergoline Ergotism Eukaryote Eukaryotic Eusocial Fecal microbiota transplant Festuca pratensis Flora (microbiology)Food microbiology Fungus Genome Gliding motility Glomeromycota Gnotobiosis Grain Greek language Gut microbiota Gut–brain axis High throughput sequencing Holism Hologenome theory of evolution Hologenomics Host (biology)Host microbe interactions in Caenorhabditis elegans Human Microbiome Project Human interactions with microbes Human microbiome Human milk microbiome Human virome Hydrothermal vent microbial communities Impedance microbiology Initial acquisition of microbiota International Census of Marine Microbes Invertebrate Ivan Wallin Kill the Winner hypothesis Konstantin Mereschkowski Laimosphere Legume Lines on the Antiquity of Microbes List of human microbiota Lung microbiota Lynn Margulis Mangrove Marine holobiont Marine microbial symbiosis Marine microbiome Marine microorganisms Marine prokaryotes Marine protists Marine viruses Metabolomics Metagenomics Metatranscriptomics Microalgae Microbial DNA barcoding Microbial biodegradation Microbial biogeography Microbial consortium Microbial cooperation Microbial cyst Microbial cytology Microbial dark matter Microbial ecology Microbial food web Microbial genetics Microbial intelligence Microbial loop Microbial mat Microbial metabolism Microbial oil Microbial oxidation of sulfur Microbial phylogenetics Microbial population biology Microbial symbiosis and immunity Microbial synergy Microbially induced sedimentary structure Microbiological culture Microbiology Microbiome Microbiome in the Drosophila gut Microbiomes of the built environment Microbiota Microbiota-accessible carbohydrates Microorganism Microswimmer Mitochondria Mucoromycotina Mycobiome Mycology Nanobacterium Necrobiome Nitrogen fixing bacteria Nylon-eating bacteria Omics Oral microbiology Pan-genome Pathogen Phagocytosis Phenotype Photosymbiosis Photosynthesis Phycosphere Phyllosphere Physical factors affecting microbial life Phytobiome Phytomonas Phytoplankton microbiome Picoeukaryote Placental microbiome Plant holobiont Plant microbiome Plant microbiota Plastid Poultry microbiome Prokaryote Protein production Protist Protist locomotion Protozoa Pseudomonadota Quorum sensing Rhizobacteria Rhizobium Rhizosphere Rhodolith Rhodolith holobiont Root microbiome Run-and-tumble motion Salivary microbiome Seagrass holobiont Seagrass microbiome Siderophore Skin flora Soil microbiology Spermosphere Sponge holobiont Sponge microbiomes Staining Suffix Superorganism Symbiodinium Symbiogenesis Symbiosis Synthetic microbial consortia Trophic mode Trypanosomatida Twitching motility Uterine microbiome Vaginal flora Vaginal flora in pregnancy Viral metagenomics Viral shunt Viriome Virology Virome Virosphere Virus Whole genome shotgun sequencing Zooxanthellae

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