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Hosts and microbes, partners in evolution
In recent years, host-microbe interactions have acquired a central role in the theory of evolution. Animal and plants are no longer considered as autonomous entities, but rather as "holobionts": networks composed of the host and its associated microbes. Accordingly, the nuclear genome, organelles and microbiome of holobionts form a "hologenome". In a new Essay, Seth Bordenstein and Kevin Theis lay out ten principles that explain these concepts and the rules governing their establishment and maintenance. This image depicts a graphical tree of animal holobionts made out of symbiotic microbes growing on an agar plate.
Image Credit: Robert M. Brucker
Citation: (2015) PLoS Biology Issue Image | Vol. 13(8) August 2015. PLoS Biol 13(8): ev13.i08. https://doi.org/10.1371/image.pbio.v13.i08
Published: August 31, 2015
Copyright: © 2015 Brucker. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
In recent years, host-microbe interactions have acquired a central role in the theory of evolution. Animal and plants are no longer considered as autonomous entities, but rather as "holobionts": networks composed of the host and its associated microbes. Accordingly, the nuclear genome, organelles and microbiome of holobionts form a "hologenome". In a new Essay, Seth Bordenstein and Kevin Theis lay out ten principles that explain these concepts and the rules governing their establishment and maintenance. This image depicts a graphical tree of animal holobionts made out of symbiotic microbes growing on an agar plate.
Image Credit: Robert M. Brucker