A bridge too far? An integrative framework linking classical protist taxonomy and metabarcoding in lower termites

Abstract

The concept of individuality has changed, since symbiosis is now accepted as being widespread and not an exception. Symbiotic microorganisms are not only crucial for the evolutionary and ecological success of many organisms (take land plants as an iconic example) but can also be key to many current human caused challenges (biomass degradation and bioenergy, for example). Nowadays, many tools are available allowing to study the hidden microbiological world, but we should not neglect that, for certain aims, researchers do need to incorporate these new technologies with less appealing and more classical approaches in an integrative framework. Using the example of lower termites' symbiosis with their protists, we intend to stimulate debate and to encourage cooperation between researchers toward high quality “big data” that can bring us closer to the pursued answers.