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Spatially structured microbial consortia and their role in food fermentations
Abstract
Microbial consortia are important for the fermentation of foods. They bring combined functionalities to the fermented product, but stability and product consistency of fermentations with complex consortia can be hard to control. Some of these consortia, such as water- and milk-kefir and kombucha, grow as multispecies aggregates or biofilms, in which micro-organisms taking part in a fermentation cascade are spatially organized. The spatial organization of micro-organisms in these aggregates can impact what metabolic interactions are realized in the consortia, ultimately affecting the growth dynamics and evolution of microbes. A better understanding of such spatially structured communities is of interest from the perspective of microbial ecology and biotechnology, as multispecies aggregates can be used to valorize energy-rich substrates, such as plant-based substrates or side streams from the food industry.
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Microfluidic approaches in microbial ecology
Abstract
Microbial life is at the heart of many diverse environments and regulates most natural processes, from the functioning of animal organs to the cycling of global carbon. Yet, the study of microbial ecology is often limited by challenges in visualizing microbial processes and replicating the environmental conditions under which they unfold. Microfluidics operates at the characteristic scale at which microorganisms live and perform their functions, thus allowing for the observation and quantification of behaviors such as growth, motility, and responses to external cues, often with greater detail than classical techniques. By enabling a high degree of control in space and time of environmental conditions such as nutrient gradients, pH levels, and fluid flow patterns, microfluidics further provides the opportunity to study microbial processes in conditions that mimic the natural settings harboring microbial life. In this review, we describe how recent applications of microfluidic systems to microbial ecology have enriched our understanding of microbial life and microbial communities. We highlight discoveries enabled by microfluidic approaches ranging from single-cell behaviors to the functioning of multi-cellular communities, and we indicate potential future opportunities to use microfluidics to further advance our understanding of microbial processes and their implications.
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Swimming towards each other: the role of chemotaxis in bacterial interactions
Abstract
Chemotaxis allows microorganisms to direct movement in response to chemical stimuli. Bacteria use this behaviour to develop spatial associations with animals and plants, and even larger microbes. However, current theory suggests that constraints imposed by the limits of chemotactic sensory systems will prevent sensing of chemical gradients emanating from cells smaller than a few micrometres, precluding the utility of chemotaxis in interactions between individual bacteria. Yet, recent evidence has revealed surprising levels of bacterial chemotactic precision, as well as a role for chemotaxis in metabolite exchange between bacterial cells. If indeed widespread, chemotactic sensing between bacteria could represent an important, but largely overlooked, phenotype within interbacterial interactions, and play a significant role in shaping cooperative and competitive relationships.
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Direct observations of microbial community succession on sinking marine particles
Abstract
Microbial community dynamics on sinking particles control the amount of carbon that reaches the deep ocean and the length of time that carbon is stored, with potentially profound impacts on Earth’s climate. A mechanistic understanding of the controls on sinking particle distributions has been hindered by limited depth- and time-resolved sampling and methods that cannot distinguish individual particles. Here, we analyze microbial communities on nearly 400 individual sinking particles in conjunction with more conventional composite particle samples to determine how particle colonization and community assembly might control carbon sequestration in the deep ocean. We observed community succession with corresponding changes in microbial metabolic potential on the larger sinking particles transporting a significant fraction of carbon to the deep sea. Microbial community richness decreased as particles aged and sank; however, richness increased with particle size and the attenuation of carbon export. This suggests that the theory of island biogeography applies to sinking marine particles. Changes in POC flux attenuation with time and microbial community composition with depth were reproduced in a mechanistic ecosystem model that reflected a range of POC labilities and microbial growth rates. Our results highlight microbial community dynamics and processes on individual sinking particles, the isolation of which is necessary to improve mechanistic models of ocean carbon uptake.