On 2016 Feb 03, Seth Bordenstei commented:

Response / Preprint at bioRxiv entitled Getting the hologenome concept right: An eco-evolutionary framework for hosts and their microbiomes

http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/02/02/038596

Given the recently appreciated complexity of symbioses among hosts and their microbes, significant rethinking in biology is occurring today. Scientists and philosophers are asking questions at new biological levels of hierarchical organization – What is a holobiont and hologenome? When should this vocabulary and associated concepts apply? Are these points of view a null hypothesis for host-microbe systems or limited to a certain spectrum of symbiotic interactions such as host-microbial coevolution? Legitimate questions, advancements and revisions are warranted at this nascent stage of the field. However, a productive and meaningful discourse can only commence when skeptics and proponents alike use the same definitions and constructs. For instance, critiquing the hologenome concept is not synonymous with critiquing coevolution, and arguing that an entity is not necessarily the primary unit of selection is not synonymous with arguing that it is not a unit of selection in general. Here, we succinctly deconstruct and clarify these recent misconceptions. Holobionts (hosts and their microbes) and hologenomes (all genomes of the holobiont) are multipartite entities that result from ecological, evolutionary and genetic processes. They are not restricted to one special process but constitute a wider vocabulary and framework for host biology in light of the microbiome. We invite the community to consider these new perspectives in biology.

On 2015 Dec 10, Seth Bordenstei commented:

Response / Blog Post on "Getting the Hologenome Concept Right". This critique will serve as a framework for a formal response by several of the authors mentioned in the paper.

http://symbionticism.blogspot.com/2015/12/getting-hologenome-concept-right.html

On 2015 Dec 10, Seth Bordenstei commented:

Response / Blog Post on "Getting the Hologenome Concept Right". This critique will serve as a framework for a formal response by several of the authors mentioned in the paper.

http://symbionticism.blogspot.com/2015/12/getting-hologenome-concept-right.html

On 2016 Feb 03, Seth Bordenstei commented:

Response / Preprint at bioRxiv entitled Getting the hologenome concept right: An eco-evolutionary framework for hosts and their microbiomes

http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/02/02/038596

Given the recently appreciated complexity of symbioses among hosts and their microbes, significant rethinking in biology is occurring today. Scientists and philosophers are asking questions at new biological levels of hierarchical organization – What is a holobiont and hologenome? When should this vocabulary and associated concepts apply? Are these points of view a null hypothesis for host-microbe systems or limited to a certain spectrum of symbiotic interactions such as host-microbial coevolution? Legitimate questions, advancements and revisions are warranted at this nascent stage of the field. However, a productive and meaningful discourse can only commence when skeptics and proponents alike use the same definitions and constructs. For instance, critiquing the hologenome concept is not synonymous with critiquing coevolution, and arguing that an entity is not necessarily the primary unit of selection is not synonymous with arguing that it is not a unit of selection in general. Here, we succinctly deconstruct and clarify these recent misconceptions. Holobionts (hosts and their microbes) and hologenomes (all genomes of the holobiont) are multipartite entities that result from ecological, evolutionary and genetic processes. They are not restricted to one special process but constitute a wider vocabulary and framework for host biology in light of the microbiome. We invite the community to consider these new perspectives in biology.