The epidermal ecotone: a proposed model system for marine viral ecology at the animal-environmental interface

Marine animal epidermal surfaces act as a transitional viral habitat-an epidermal ecotone-between tissues and the environment, supporting diverse tripartite relationships between animals, microbes, and viruses, which have yet to be investigated. In this review, we synthesize the viral ecology of marine animal epidermal tissues, surfaces, and aura biomes to identify knowledge gaps and highlight the value of marine animal epidermis as a novel model system for microbiome research.