Evolution: the newly-found bacterial role: (Evolution)

by dhw, Tuesday, April 02, 2019, 10:40 (2061 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: The microbiome works importantly across the entire bush of life:
https://www.the-scientist.com/critic-at-large/opinion--individuals-are-greater-than-the...

QUOTE:These findings are no doubt just one example of coordination between a host and its microbes. As the evolutionary concept of the hologenome matures, researchers will likely document many more plant and animal communities that evolve with their microbiomes. It remains to be determined whether a microbiome’s compositional changes directly affect its host’s physiological response to changing environmental conditions. But the holo¬genome concept will undoubtedly influence our understanding of the evolution and ecology of all organisms.

If we bear in mind that the “host” actually consists of cell communities, then it becomes blindingly obvious that the behaviour of the plant or animal “community” must be the result of coordination between all its cells as they respond to changing environmental conditions. This is what I take to be the “hologenome concept”, and is the basis of the hypothesis that evolution has occurred through “coordination between the host and its microbes” as they respond to changes in the environment.