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Concept
Holobiont
Summary
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 this 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.
A holobiont is a collection of closely associated species that have complex interactions, such as a plant species and the members of its microbiome. Each species present in a holobiont is a biont, and the genomes of all bionts taken together are the hologenome, or the "comprehensive gene system" of the holobiont. A holobiont typically includes a eukaryote host and all of the symbiotic viruses, bacteria, fungi, etc. that live on or inside it.
Holobionts are distinct from superorganisms; superorganisms consist of many individuals, sometimes of the same species, and the term is commonly applied to eusocial insects. An ant colony can be described as a superorganism, whereas an individual ant and its associated bacteria, fungi, etc. are a holobiont. There is no doubt that symbiotic microorganisms are pivotal for the biology and ecology of the host by providing vitamins, energy and inorganic or organic nutrients, participating in defense mechanisms, or by driving the evolution of the host. There is still some controversy surrounding these terms, and they have been used interchangeably in some publications.
Holism is a philosophical notion first proposed by Aristotle in the 4th century BC.
Official source
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