Suárez, Javier (2021) The holobiont/hologenome as a level of selection: An approach to the evolution of multispecies systems. THEORIA. An International Journal for Theory, History and Foundations of Science, 36 (1). pp. 81-112. ISSN 2171-679X
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Abstract
The units or levels of selection debate concerns the question of what kind of biological systems are stable enough that part of their evolution is a result of the process of natural selection acting at their level. Traditionally, the debate has concerned at least two different, though related, questions: the question of the level at which interaction with the environment occurs (which entity acts as an interactor), and the question of the level at which reproduction occurs (which entity acts as a replicator or reproducer). In recent years, biologists and philosophers have discussed a new aspect of this debate, namely the possibility that certain multi-species consortia formed by a host and its microbiome (holobionts/hologenomes) may act as a unit of selection. This thesis, however, has not been without criticism, as it is doubtful that such consortia could meet the conditions required to achieve the degree of stability that would allow them to experience natural selection. The purpose of this paper is to systematically examine such criticisms and to defend the thesis that the holobiont/hologenome can act as a genuine level of selection both in the form of an interactor and in the form of a reproducer. To do so, it will be argued that the microbiome should be characterized in functional rather than taxonomic terms.
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| Item Type: | Published Article or Volume | ||||||
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| Additional Information: | ISSN: 0495-4548 (print) | ||||||
| Keywords: | units/levels of selection; natural selection; interactor; reproducer; hologenome; microbiota; evolutionary theory. | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory Specific Sciences > Biology > Function/Teleology Specific Sciences > Biology > Systematics |
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| Depositing User: | Unnamed user with email theoria@ehu.es | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 19 Feb 2021 16:15 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 19 Feb 2021 16:15 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 18724 | ||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | THEORIA. An International Journal for Theory, History and Foundations of Science | ||||||
| Publisher: | Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea / Universidad del País Vasco | ||||||
| Official URL: | https://ojs.ehu.eus/index.php/THEORIA/article/view... | ||||||
| DOI or Unique Handle: | 10.1387/theoria.21611 | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Biology > Evolutionary Theory Specific Sciences > Biology > Function/Teleology Specific Sciences > Biology > Systematics |
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| Date: | January 2021 | ||||||
| Page Range: | pp. 81-112 | ||||||
| Volume: | 36 | ||||||
| Number: | 1 | ||||||
| ISSN: | 2171-679X | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/18724 |
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