The role of the microbiome relative to the genome for niche width and host adaptation. KU Leuven
Surviving global change is possible through genetic adaptation and phenotypic plasticity, being the main mechanisms considered to improve an organism’s fitness. However, recent studies show that microbiomes (communities of microbiota inside hosts and their genome expression) play an important role as well. As microbiota are known to influence multiple processes, such as nutrient uptake and detoxification, they might expand species niche width ...