HoloGen · Advancing the development and implementation of hologenomics in biological sciences

Basic biology as well as applied fields such as agrobiology, biomedicine or biotechnology are undergoing a revolution driven by the realisation that microorganisms impact virtually all biological processes. Microorganisms associated with complex organisms are no longer considered passive passengers but active crews that continuously interact with their host to shape a wide range of biological functions that play a key role in major basic and applied processes. The application of the newest high throughput molecular technologies to address such interplay has given rise to the novel field of hologenomics, which entails the joint analysis of host genomes and microbial metagenomes with the aim of understanding the impact of host-microbiota interactions in basic and applied biological processes. The DN HoloGen has been conceived to lead the development and practical implementation of hologenomics in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of host-microbiota interactions, and their impact in both basic and applied areas with direct relevance to many of the global societal challenges. We propose to form an unprecedented multidisciplinary and scientifically sound training network by bringing together top researchers with theoretical knowledge on symbiosis biology, microbial ecology, animal evolution, animal production and biomedicine, as well as practical expertise in large- scale (meta)genomics, DNA sequence analysis, metabolomics, computational biology and biological systems modelling. We anticipate that the research results will be (i) of academic relevance through development of new analytical frameworks and understandings of host-microbiome interactions, (ii) of direct relevance to the portfolios of the industrial partners, and (iii) through these portfolios stand to benefit the European Research and Innovation community.