Summary
This review integrates microbiome biology with quantitative genetics to elucidate how microbial communities influence host evolutionary dynamics. Rather than treating hosts as isolated units, the authors demonstrate two primary pathways through which microbiomes alter evolutionary potential: by shifting average phenotypic expression and by modulating phenotypic variation within populations. The synthesis spans multiple taxonomic systems and identifies key research questions needed to resolve the complex interplay between hosts and their microbial partners in shaping adaptive evolution.
UK applicability
The theoretical framework may inform UK agricultural research on how soil and ruminant microbiomes influence livestock traits and crop phenotypes under selection, though the review's scope is primarily ecological and evolutionary rather than immediately prescriptive for farming practice.
Key measures
Host phenotypic mean and variance; host response to selection; microbiome-mediated evolutionary effects across taxa
Outcomes reported
The paper synthesises literature on how microbiomes affect host evolutionary potential through two mechanisms: shifting mean host phenotype and altering phenotypic variance in populations. It examines how these processes shape host response to selection across diverse taxa.
Topic tags
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