New Explainer Video on the Hologenomic Approach

In a newly produced explainer video, Professor and Center Director Tom Gilbert and his colleagues at the Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics present their hologenomic approach and elaborate on its applied potential to answer some of life’s big questions

Improving animal health and growth, having stronger crops that are more resistant to pathogens, improving human health challenges and lowering our use of antibiotics. These are some of the potential benefits that Center Director Tom Gilbert and his colleagues at the Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics highlight in their new explainer video that presents how a hologenomic approach can answer key questions in ecology and evolution.

The video serves as an introduction to the exciting research they are conducting at the Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics. Here they frame evolutionary questions from a holistic perspective, studying both the big host organisms and their respective microbes together rather than as two separate objects of study. The reciprocal perspective on this relationship between host and microbiome can thereby potentially offer new explanations to some of the key drivers of evolution, translating into huge applied potential for improving health of crops, animals and humans.

Diverse Applicability

The hologenomic perspective is relevant in various research fields such as biomedicine, biotechnology, agri- and aquacultural sciences and nature conservation. Understanding the interaction between host and microbiome has clear sustainability benefits as well. Researchers at the Center are, for example, already applying the approach to make food production healthier and more sustainable for future generations in the HoloFood project

The Center for Evolutionary Hologenomics opened their doors in 2020, funded by the Danish Research Association, and is part of the GLOBE Institute. The Center already coordinates a number of large scale hologenomic projects such as the EU funded Finding Pheno and the Earth Hologenome Initiative which is funded by the Carlsberg Foundation and the Danish Research Association. Stay up to date with the latest on the Center.