Understanding how animals acquire their microbiomes, especially microbial symbionts, is necessary to learn how environments shape host phenotypes via host-microbe interactions and whether hosts and their microbiomes represent an important unit of natural selection.

More than 30 microbiologists from 9 countries have issued a warning to humanity - they are calling for the world to stop ignoring an 'unseen majority' in Earth's biodiversity and ecosystem when addressing climate change.