The Informational Model of the Holobiont: Statistical Tests for Selection and Extension to a Theory of Variable Interactions
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: We review, clarify, and generalize a recently proposed evolutionary information-theoretic model of the holobiont, in which evolutionary change is quantified using Jeffreys divergence and partitioned into contributions from the host, microbial components, and host-microbiome associations. Building on these partitions, we develop statistical tests to distinguish informational changes in host and microbial marginal distributions from changes in host-microbiome associations and conditional dependence among microbial components within host types. We then extend the framework to multicomponent groups subject to within- and between-group selection and, ultimately, to a general hierarchical formulation that we call the Theory of Variable Interactions (TVI). In this formulation, biological units may contain interacting components and may themselves form higher-level sets, allowing informational change to be partitioned recursively into marginal and association components across an arbitrary number of organizational levels. The framework encompasses previously studied models of the tragedy of the commons and of aggregate and multicomponent holobiont selection, and, as a further specialization, informational models of non-random mating and sexual selection. TVI therefore provides a unified information-theoretic framework for quantifying evolutionary change in both biological entities and their interactions, with local statistical dimensionality preserved across hierarchical levels while higher levels introduce additional relational dimensions.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Author: Carvajal-Rodríguez, Antonio
Institution: Universidade de Vigo
Language: English
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7204202012