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Published on: October 13, 2023
Learning from mistakes: challenges in finding holobiont factors from environmental samples and the importance of
So Fujiyoshi1, Kyoko Yarimizu1, Ishara Perera1
1Microbial Genomics and Ecology, Center for the Planetary Health and Innovation Science (PHIS), The IDEC Institute, Hiroshima University, 1-3-2 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima City, Hiroshima 739-8511, Japan.
Abstract:
The cause of harmful algal blooms has been a mystery, but research to elucidate its mechanism has progressed over the years thanks to genetic technologies. We have monitored toxic algae and its associated bacteria as a community, the so-called 'holobiont' in Chilean coastal waters for years from the perspective of bacteria as an algal bloom driver. This review describes the challenges of holobiont monitoring, specifically with respect to standardizing and compliance with the monitoring protocols to collect reliable and sustainable data. Further, we suggest adopting the high-throughput sequencing (HTS) standard operating procedure (SOP) by the International Human Microbiome to improve the quality and consistency of holobiont monitoring in the harmful algal world.
