Microbiome

Holobionts

Holobiotics are collections of closely related species with complex interactions, such as plant species and their Microbiome members. Every species that exists in a whole organism is an organism, and the genomes of all organisms taken together are the whole genome, or the "comprehensive genetic system" of the whole organism. A whole-organism perspective is essential to capture within a single interpretive unit the important niche-building processes that occur at these different levels and across multiple species. Humans, animals and plants are all holographic beings. This concept is now supporting a growing number of scientific projects ranging from studies of the environment, animal or plant ecosystems, to studies of immunity, nutrition and human health.