Abstract:
In nature, microbes interact antagonistically, neutrally, or beneficially. To shed light on the effects of positive interactions in microbial consortia, we introduced metabolic dependencies and metabolite overproduction into four bacterial species. While antagonistic interactions govern the wild-type consortium behavior, the genetic modifications alleviated antagonistic interactions and resulted in beneficial interactions. Engineered cross-feeding increased population evenness, a component of ecological diversity, in different environments, including in a more complex gnotobiotic mouse gut environment. Our findings suggest that metabolite cross-feeding could be used as a tool for intentionally shaping microbial consortia in complex environments.IMPORTANCE Microbial communities are ubiquitous in nature. Bacterial consortia live in and on our body and in our environment, and more recently, biotechnology is applying microbial consortia for bioproduction. As part of our body, bacterial consortia influence us in health and disease. Microbial consortium function is determined by its composition, which in turn is driven by the interactions between species. Further understanding of microbial interactions will help us in deciphering how consortia function in complex environments and may enable us to modify microbial consortia for health and environmental benefits.
摘要:
在大自然中,微生物拮抗相互作用,中立,或有益的。为了阐明微生物聚生体中积极相互作用的影响,我们在四种细菌中引入了代谢依赖性和代谢产物过量生产。虽然拮抗相互作用控制着野生型财团的行为,遗传修饰减轻了拮抗相互作用,并导致有益的相互作用。工程交叉饲养提高了种群均匀性,生态多样性的一个组成部分,在不同的环境中,包括在更复杂的肠道环境中。我们的发现表明,代谢物交叉喂养可以用作在复杂环境中有意塑造微生物聚生体的工具。重要性微生物群落在自然界中无处不在。细菌聚生体生活在我们的身体和环境中,最近,生物技术是将微生物聚生体应用于生物生产。作为我们身体的一部分,细菌群会影响我们的健康和疾病。微生物联合体的功能由其组成决定,这又是由物种之间的相互作用驱动的。对微生物相互作用的进一步了解将有助于我们破译聚生体在复杂环境中的功能,并可能使我们能够修改微生物聚生体以获得健康和环境效益。