Gut Microbiota, Metabolic Disorders and Beyond (D4) 2016

The hologenome theory of evolution proposes that natural selection acts not on the individual organism but rather on the "holobiont," which consists of the organism together with microbiome (its genes and metabolites). When a holobiont is challenged by dramatic changes, such as altered diet or reduced physical activity, it employs adaptive mechanisms in the form of reshuffling its microbiome (resident microbial communities), but the underlying mechanisms of this molecular crosstalk remain to be determined.

Effective study of the holobiont requires a systems biology approach: remove one component of the holobiont to study it in reductionist style and other parts also altered will be overlooked. Decades of reductionist research aimed at understanding the mechanisms responsible for the current dramatic epidemic of man-made metabolic diseases have not considered the holobiont perspective and have consequently missed the adaptation strategies of the microbiome but have set the stage to explore the inchoate holobiont perspective.