Microbial communities Stay Healthy by Swapping Knowledge
Published:14 Sep.2022 Source:Duke University
Biomedical engineers at Duke University have demonstrated a microbial community phenomenon that essentially equates to teaching neighbors how to complete necessary tasks by ripping out and sharing parts of the brain.
The process allows microbiomes to keep themselves and their environments healthy and could help scientists create robust, bespoke microbial systems for applications ranging from cleaning toxins from the environment to producing biofuel and other consumer products.
"There are cases where complex metabolic pathways are difficult to engineer in a single bacterial species where it's easier to have different populations carrying out different steps of the process," "This study suggests we can implement that strategy through gene transfer so that we don't have to worry about the specific composition of species. We can just let the community find the best balance for itself while still knowing it will continue to get the job done."