{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,8]],"date-time":"2026-04-08T06:09:04Z","timestamp":1775628544229,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":10,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,8]],"date-time":"2026-04-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1775606400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Microbiol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Coral reefs and the human ocular surface represent ecologically distinct yet structurally comparable microbial ecosystems in which resilience depends on finely regulated host\u2013microbe interactions. In coral reef science, microbial shifts precede visible bleaching and ecosystem collapse, enabling the development of predictive stress indices such as Degree Heating Weeks (DHW). Comparable principles are emerging in host-associated, low-biomass microbiomes, where subtle perturbations may trigger disproportionate functional consequences. Here, we propose a systems-level conceptual framework linking coral reef holobionts and the ocular surface as sentinel ecosystems governed by cumulative stress, threshold dynamics, and microbial instability. We introduce two heuristic constructs\u2014the Cumulative Desiccating Load (CDL) and the Ocular Dysbiosis Sentinel Index (ODSI)\u2014to frame dysbiosis as a trajectory of resilience loss driven by cumulative perturbations. Aging-related conditions such as age-related macular degeneration are discussed as examples of microbial and metabolic senescence within the human holobiont, conceptually paralleling coral reef decline under chronic sublethal stress. By integrating environmental and host-associated microbiome research within a planetary-health perspective, this article advances a resilience-oriented systems framework applicable across biological scales.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2026.1816460","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,8]],"date-time":"2026-04-08T05:32:11Z","timestamp":1775626331000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The eye\u2019s coral reef: toward a planetary-health agenda for ocular-microbiome stewardship"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Lorenzo","family":"Drago","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Clinical Medicine with Specialized Areas, IRCCS MultiMedica","place":["Milan, Italy"]},{"name":"Clinical Microbiology and Microbiome Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan","place":["Milan, Italy"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Luigi Regenburgh","family":"De La Motte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Clinical Medicine with Specialized Areas, IRCCS MultiMedica","place":["Milan, Italy"]},{"name":"Clinical Microbiology and Microbiome Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan","place":["Milan, Italy"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"554","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tim.2009.09.004","article-title":"Microbial disease and the coral holobiont","volume":"17","author":"Bourne","year":"2009","journal-title":"Trends Microbiol."},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"438","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jtos.2017.05.011","article-title":"TFOS DEWS II pathophysiology report","volume":"15","author":"Bron","year":"2017","journal-title":"Ocul. Surf."},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"276","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jtos.2017.05.008","article-title":"TFOS DEWS II definition and classification report","volume":"15","author":"Craig","year":"2017","journal-title":"Ocul. Surf."},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"109216","DOI":"10.1016\/j.exer.2022.109216","article-title":"Inside out: relations between the microbiome, nutrition, and eye health","volume":"224","author":"Grant","year":"2022","journal-title":"Exp. Eye Res."},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"373","DOI":"10.1038\/nature21707","article-title":"Global warming and recurrent mass bleaching of corals","volume":"543","author":"Hughes","year":"2017","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"213","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jtos.2024.08.001","article-title":"Preservatives and ocular surface disease: a review","volume":"34","author":"Kahook","year":"2024","journal-title":"Ocul. Surf."},{"key":"ref7","article-title":"Fourth global coral bleaching event: status update","year":"2025"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"148","DOI":"10.1016\/j.immuni.2017.06.014","article-title":"An ocular commensal protects against corneal infection by driving an interleukin-17 response from mucosal gammadelta T cells","volume":"47","author":"St Leger","year":"2017","journal-title":"Immunity"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"460","DOI":"10.1038\/s41579-024-01015-3","article-title":"The coral microbiome in sickness, in health and in a changing world","volume":"22","author":"Voolstra","year":"2024","journal-title":"Nat. Rev. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1627","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ajpath.2023.04.006","article-title":"The emerging role of gut microbiota in age-related macular degeneration","volume":"193","author":"Xiao","year":"2023","journal-title":"Am. J. Pathol."}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Microbiology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fmicb.2026.1816460\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,8]],"date-time":"2026-04-08T05:32:12Z","timestamp":1775626332000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fmicb.2026.1816460\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,8]]},"references-count":10,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fmicb.2026.1816460"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fmicb.2026.1816460","relation":{},"ISSN":["1664-302X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1664-302X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,8]]},"article-number":"1816460"}}