holobiont

English

Etymology

From holo- +‎ -biont.

Noun

holobiont (plural holobionts)

1. (ecology) A host organism plus its associated microorganisms
   • 2015 August 13, Christiane Schmidt et al., “Recent Invasion of the Symbiont-Bearing Foraminifera Pararotalia into the Eastern Mediterranean Facilitated by the Ongoing Warming Trend”, in PLoS ONE‎^[1], volume 10, →DOI:

     The variables we considered include solar irradiance and turbidity, which are relevant to the symbiont photosynthesis and yearly minimum temperature, representing potential limiting factors for the holobiont.

   • 2018, Nicola Davis, The Guardian, 256 March:

     Some say we should be seen as a holobiont, a term that reflects the intimate, co-dependent relationship humans have with microbes.

   • 2020, Merlin Sheldrake, Entangled Life, page 103:

     Holobionts are the lichens of this world, the more-than-the-sums of parts.

Related terms

• holobiome