The meta-holobiont: rethinking marine species interactions through microbial connectivity.

The meta-holobiont framework reframes marine communities as networks of interacting holobionts connected via microbial transmission and metabolite production, linking connectivity to fitness and stress tolerance.

• Why it matters: It addresses a gap in ecology by moving beyond host–microbiome (intra-holobiont) interactions to consider how whole holobionts influence one another under anthropogenic pressure.
• What they did: The framework conceptualizes marine communities as holobiont networks and draws on conceptual and empirical findings from sessile benthic species to support microbial connectivity via horizontal transmission.
• The result: Marine connectivity is proposed to enhance host fitness and stress tolerance across all life stages, informing ecological dynamics and potentially improving marine restoration strategies.

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