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Raajaraam L, Raman K. Modeling Microbial Communities: Perspective and Challenges. ACS Synth Biol 2024; 13:2260-2270. [PMID: 39148432 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.4c00116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/17/2024]
Abstract
Microbial communities are immensely important due to their widespread presence and profound impact on various facets of life. Understanding these complex systems necessitates mathematical modeling, a powerful tool for simulating and predicting microbial community behavior. This review offers a critical analysis of metabolic modeling and highlights key areas that would greatly benefit from broader discussion and collaboration. Moreover, we explore the challenges and opportunities linked to the intricate nature of these communities, spanning data generation, modeling, and validation. We are confident that ongoing advancements in modeling techniques, such as machine learning, coupled with interdisciplinary collaborations, will unlock the full potential of microbial communities across diverse applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lavanya Raajaraam
- Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, Chennai 600 036, India
- Centre for Integrative Biology and Systems mEdicine, IIT Madras, Chennai 600 036, India
- Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (RBCDSAI), IIT Madras, Chennai 600 036, India
| | - Karthik Raman
- Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, Chennai 600 036, India
- Centre for Integrative Biology and Systems mEdicine, IIT Madras, Chennai 600 036, India
- Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (RBCDSAI), IIT Madras, Chennai 600 036, India
- Department of Data Science and AI, Wadhwani School of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, IIT Madras, Chennai 600 036, India
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2
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Choudhary R, Mahadevan R. DyMMM-LEAPS: An ML-based framework for modulating evenness and stability in synthetic microbial communities. Biophys J 2024:S0006-3495(24)00320-5. [PMID: 38733081 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2024.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2024] [Revised: 04/22/2024] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024] Open
Abstract
There have been a growing number of computational strategies to aid in the design of synthetic microbial consortia. A framework to identify regions in parametric space to maximize two essential properties, evenness and stability, is critical. In this study, we introduce DyMMM-LEAPS (dynamic multispecies metabolic modeling-locating evenness and stability in large parametric space), an extension of the DyMMM framework. Our method explores the large parametric space of genetic circuits in synthetic microbial communities to identify regions of evenness and stability. Due to the high computational costs of exhaustive sampling, we utilize adaptive sampling and surrogate modeling to reduce the number of simulations required to map the vast space. Our framework predicts engineering targets and computes their operating ranges to maximize the probability of the engineered community to have high evenness and stability. We demonstrate our approach by simulating five cocultures and one three-strain culture with different social interactions (cooperation, competition, and predation) employing quorum-sensing-based genetic circuits. In addition to guiding circuit tuning, our pipeline gives an opportunity for a detailed analysis of pockets of evenness and stability for the circuit under investigation, which can further help dissect the relationship between the two properties. DyMMM-LEAPS is easily customizable and can be expanded to a larger community with more complex interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruhi Choudhary
- University of Toronto, Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Radhakrishnan Mahadevan
- University of Toronto, Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, Toronto, ON, Canada.
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3
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Raczyłło E, Gołowicz D, Skóra T, Kazimierczuk K, Kondrat S. Size Sensitivity of Metabolite Diffusion in Macromolecular Crowds. NANO LETTERS 2024; 24. [PMID: 38607288 PMCID: PMC11057039 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c05100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2023] [Revised: 04/02/2024] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
Metabolites play crucial roles in cellular processes, yet their diffusion in the densely packed interiors of cells remains poorly understood, compounded by conflicting reports in existing studies. Here, we employ pulsed-gradient stimulated-echo NMR and Brownian/Stokesian dynamics simulations to elucidate the behavior of nano- and subnanometer-sized tracers in crowded environments. Using Ficoll as a crowder, we observe a linear decrease in tracer diffusivity with increasing occupied volume fraction, persisting─somewhat surprisingly─up to volume fractions of 30-40%. While simulations suggest a linear correlation between diffusivity slowdown and particle size, experimental findings hint at a more intricate relationship, possibly influenced by Ficoll's porosity. Simulations and numerical calculations of tracer diffusivity in the E. coli cytoplasm show a nonlinear yet monotonic diffusion slowdown with particle size. We discuss our results in the context of nanoviscosity and discrepancies with existing studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edyta Raczyłło
- Institute
of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, 01-224 Warsaw, Poland
- Department
of Theoretical Chemistry, Institute of Chemical Sciences, Faculty
of Chemistry, Maria Curie-Skłodowska
University in Lublin, 20-031 Lublin, Poland
| | - Dariusz Gołowicz
- Institute
of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, 01-224 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Tomasz Skóra
- Institute
of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, 01-224 Warsaw, Poland
- Scientific
Computing and Imaging Institute, University
of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States
| | | | - Svyatoslav Kondrat
- Institute
of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, 01-224 Warsaw, Poland
- Institute
for Computational Physics, University of
Stuttgart 70569, Stuttgart, Germany
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4
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Cerk K, Ugalde‐Salas P, Nedjad CG, Lecomte M, Muller C, Sherman DJ, Hildebrand F, Labarthe S, Frioux C. Community-scale models of microbiomes: Articulating metabolic modelling and metagenome sequencing. Microb Biotechnol 2024; 17:e14396. [PMID: 38243750 PMCID: PMC10832553 DOI: 10.1111/1751-7915.14396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Revised: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Building models is essential for understanding the functions and dynamics of microbial communities. Metabolic models built on genome-scale metabolic network reconstructions (GENREs) are especially relevant as a means to decipher the complex interactions occurring among species. Model reconstruction increasingly relies on metagenomics, which permits direct characterisation of naturally occurring communities that may contain organisms that cannot be isolated or cultured. In this review, we provide an overview of the field of metabolic modelling and its increasing reliance on and synergy with metagenomics and bioinformatics. We survey the means of assigning functions and reconstructing metabolic networks from (meta-)genomes, and present the variety and mathematical fundamentals of metabolic models that foster the understanding of microbial dynamics. We emphasise the characterisation of interactions and the scaling of model construction to large communities, two important bottlenecks in the applicability of these models. We give an overview of the current state of the art in metagenome sequencing and bioinformatics analysis, focusing on the reconstruction of genomes in microbial communities. Metagenomics benefits tremendously from third-generation sequencing, and we discuss the opportunities of long-read sequencing, strain-level characterisation and eukaryotic metagenomics. We aim at providing algorithmic and mathematical support, together with tool and application resources, that permit bridging the gap between metagenomics and metabolic modelling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klara Cerk
- Quadram Institute BioscienceNorwichUK
- Earlham InstituteNorwichUK
| | | | - Chabname Ghassemi Nedjad
- Inria, University of Bordeaux, INRAETalenceFrance
- University of Bordeaux, CNRS, Bordeaux INP, LaBRI, UMR 5800TalenceFrance
| | - Maxime Lecomte
- Inria, University of Bordeaux, INRAETalenceFrance
- INRAE STLO¸University of RennesRennesFrance
| | | | | | - Falk Hildebrand
- Quadram Institute BioscienceNorwichUK
- Earlham InstituteNorwichUK
| | - Simon Labarthe
- Inria, University of Bordeaux, INRAETalenceFrance
- INRAE, University of Bordeaux, BIOGECO, UMR 1202CestasFrance
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5
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Burz SD, Causevic S, Dal Co A, Dmitrijeva M, Engel P, Garrido-Sanz D, Greub G, Hapfelmeier S, Hardt WD, Hatzimanikatis V, Heiman CM, Herzog MKM, Hockenberry A, Keel C, Keppler A, Lee SJ, Luneau J, Malfertheiner L, Mitri S, Ngyuen B, Oftadeh O, Pacheco AR, Peaudecerf F, Resch G, Ruscheweyh HJ, Sahin A, Sanders IR, Slack E, Sunagawa S, Tackmann J, Tecon R, Ugolini GS, Vacheron J, van der Meer JR, Vayena E, Vonaesch P, Vorholt JA. From microbiome composition to functional engineering, one step at a time. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 2023; 87:e0006323. [PMID: 37947420 PMCID: PMC10732080 DOI: 10.1128/mmbr.00063-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
SUMMARYCommunities of microorganisms (microbiota) are present in all habitats on Earth and are relevant for agriculture, health, and climate. Deciphering the mechanisms that determine microbiota dynamics and functioning within the context of their respective environments or hosts (the microbiomes) is crucially important. However, the sheer taxonomic, metabolic, functional, and spatial complexity of most microbiomes poses substantial challenges to advancing our knowledge of these mechanisms. While nucleic acid sequencing technologies can chart microbiota composition with high precision, we mostly lack information about the functional roles and interactions of each strain present in a given microbiome. This limits our ability to predict microbiome function in natural habitats and, in the case of dysfunction or dysbiosis, to redirect microbiomes onto stable paths. Here, we will discuss a systematic approach (dubbed the N+1/N-1 concept) to enable step-by-step dissection of microbiome assembly and functioning, as well as intervention procedures to introduce or eliminate one particular microbial strain at a time. The N+1/N-1 concept is informed by natural invasion events and selects culturable, genetically accessible microbes with well-annotated genomes to chart their proliferation or decline within defined synthetic and/or complex natural microbiota. This approach enables harnessing classical microbiological and diversity approaches, as well as omics tools and mathematical modeling to decipher the mechanisms underlying N+1/N-1 microbiota outcomes. Application of this concept further provides stepping stones and benchmarks for microbiome structure and function analyses and more complex microbiome intervention strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Dan Burz
- Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Senka Causevic
- Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Alma Dal Co
- Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Marija Dmitrijeva
- Department of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Philipp Engel
- Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Daniel Garrido-Sanz
- Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Gilbert Greub
- Institut de microbiologie, CHUV University Hospital Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | | | | | - Clara Margot Heiman
- Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Christoph Keel
- Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | - Soon-Jae Lee
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Julien Luneau
- Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Lukas Malfertheiner
- Department of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Sara Mitri
- Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Bidong Ngyuen
- Institute of Microbiology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Omid Oftadeh
- Laboratory of Computational Systems Biotechnology, EPF Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Grégory Resch
- Center for Research and Innovation in Clinical Pharmaceutical Sciences, CHUV University Hospital Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | - Asli Sahin
- Laboratory of Computational Systems Biotechnology, EPF Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Ian R. Sanders
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Emma Slack
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | | | - Janko Tackmann
- Department of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Robin Tecon
- Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | - Jordan Vacheron
- Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | - Evangelia Vayena
- Laboratory of Computational Systems Biotechnology, EPF Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Pascale Vonaesch
- Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
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6
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Roychowdhury S, Roth CM. Pharmacodynamic Model of the Dynamic Response of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms to Antibacterial Treatments. Biomedicines 2023; 11:2316. [PMID: 37626812 PMCID: PMC10452719 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11082316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Revised: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Accurate pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) models of biofilm treatment could be used to guide formulation and administration strategies to better control bacterial lung infections. To this end, we developed a detailed pharmacodynamic model of P. aeruginosa treatment with the front-line antibiotics, tobramycin and colistin, and validated it on a detailed dataset of killing dynamics. A compartmental model structure was developed in which the key features are the diffusion of the drug through a boundary layer to the bacteria, concentration-dependent interactions with bacteria, and the passage of the bacteria through successive transit states before death. The number of transit states employed was greater for tobramycin, which is a ribosomal inhibitor, than for colistin, which disrupts bacterial membranes. For both drugs, the experimentally observed delay in the killing of bacteria following drug exposure was consistent with the sum of the diffusion time and the time for passage through the transit states. For each drug, the PD model with a single set of parameters described data across a ten-fold range of concentrations and for both continuous and transient exposure protocols, as well as for combined drug treatments. The ability to predict drug response over a range of administration protocols allows this PD model to be integrated with PK descriptions to describe in vivo antibiotic response dynamics and to predict drug delivery strategies for the improved control of bacterial lung infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Swarnima Roychowdhury
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA;
| | - Charles M. Roth
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA;
- Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
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7
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Scott WT, Benito-Vaquerizo S, Zimmermann J, Bajić D, Heinken A, Suarez-Diez M, Schaap PJ. A structured evaluation of genome-scale constraint-based modeling tools for microbial consortia. PLoS Comput Biol 2023; 19:e1011363. [PMID: 37578975 PMCID: PMC10449394 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Harnessing the power of microbial consortia is integral to a diverse range of sectors, from healthcare to biotechnology to environmental remediation. To fully realize this potential, it is critical to understand the mechanisms behind the interactions that structure microbial consortia and determine their functions. Constraint-based reconstruction and analysis (COBRA) approaches, employing genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs), have emerged as the state-of-the-art tool to simulate the behavior of microbial communities from their constituent genomes. In the last decade, many tools have been developed that use COBRA approaches to simulate multi-species consortia, under either steady-state, dynamic, or spatiotemporally varying scenarios. Yet, these tools have not been systematically evaluated regarding their software quality, most suitable application, and predictive power. Hence, it is uncertain which tools users should apply to their system and what are the most urgent directions that developers should take in the future to improve existing capacities. This study conducted a systematic evaluation of COBRA-based tools for microbial communities using datasets from two-member communities as test cases. First, we performed a qualitative assessment in which we evaluated 24 published tools based on a list of FAIR (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability) features essential for software quality. Next, we quantitatively tested the predictions in a subset of 14 of these tools against experimental data from three different case studies: a) syngas fermentation by C. autoethanogenum and C. kluyveri for the static tools, b) glucose/xylose fermentation with engineered E. coli and S. cerevisiae for the dynamic tools, and c) a Petri dish of E. coli and S. enterica for tools incorporating spatiotemporal variation. Our results show varying performance levels of the best qualitatively assessed tools when examining the different categories of tools. The differences in the mathematical formulation of the approaches and their relation to the results were also discussed. Ultimately, we provide recommendations for refining future GEM microbial modeling tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- William T. Scott
- Laboratory of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
- UNLOCK, Wageningen University & Research and Delft University of Technology, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Sara Benito-Vaquerizo
- Laboratory of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Johannes Zimmermann
- Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Research Group Medical Systems Biology, Kiel, Germany
| | - Djordje Bajić
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Almut Heinken
- Inserm U1256 Laboratoire nGERE, Université de Lorraine, Nancy, France
| | - Maria Suarez-Diez
- Laboratory of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Peter J. Schaap
- Laboratory of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
- UNLOCK, Wageningen University & Research and Delft University of Technology, Wageningen, the Netherlands
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8
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Guex I, Mazza C, Dubey M, Batsch M, Li R, van der Meer JR. Regulated bacterial interaction networks: A mathematical framework to describe competitive growth under inclusion of metabolite cross-feeding. PLoS Comput Biol 2023; 19:e1011402. [PMID: 37603551 PMCID: PMC10470959 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2023] [Revised: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023] Open
Abstract
When bacterial species with the same resource preferences share the same growth environment, it is commonly believed that direct competition will arise. A large variety of competition and more general 'interaction' models have been formulated, but what is currently lacking are models that link monoculture growth kinetics and community growth under inclusion of emerging biological interactions, such as metabolite cross-feeding. In order to understand and mathematically describe the nature of potential cross-feeding interactions, we design experiments where two bacterial species Pseudomonas putida and Pseudomonas veronii grow in liquid medium either in mono- or as co-culture in a resource-limited environment. We measure population growth under single substrate competition or with double species-specific substrates (substrate 'indifference'), and starting from varying cell ratios of either species. Using experimental data as input, we first consider a mean-field model of resource-based competition, which captures well the empirically observed growth rates for monocultures, but fails to correctly predict growth rates in co-culture mixtures, in particular for skewed starting species ratios. Based on this, we extend the model by cross-feeding interactions where the consumption of substrate by one consumer produces metabolites that in turn are resources for the other consumer, thus leading to positive feedback in the species system. Two different cross-feeding options were considered, which either lead to constant metabolite cross-feeding, or to a regulated form, where metabolite utilization is activated with rates according to either a threshold or a Hill function, dependent on metabolite concentration. Both mathematical proof and experimental data indicate regulated cross-feeding to be the preferred model to constant metabolite utilization, with best co-culture growth predictions in case of high Hill coefficients, close to binary (on/off) activation states. This suggests that species use the appearing metabolite concentrations only when they are becoming high enough; possibly as a consequence of their lower energetic content than the primary substrate. Metabolite sharing was particularly relevant at unbalanced starting cell ratios, causing the minority partner to proliferate more than expected from the competitive substrate because of metabolite release from the majority partner. This effect thus likely quells immediate substrate competition and may be important in natural communities with typical very skewed relative taxa abundances and slower-growing taxa. In conclusion, the regulated bacterial interaction network correctly describes species substrate growth reactions in mixtures with few kinetic parameters that can be obtained from monoculture growth experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isaline Guex
- Department of Mathematics, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Christian Mazza
- Department of Mathematics, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Manupriyam Dubey
- Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Maxime Batsch
- Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Renyi Li
- Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
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9
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Schäfer M, Pacheco AR, Künzler R, Bortfeld-Miller M, Field CM, Vayena E, Hatzimanikatis V, Vorholt JA. Metabolic interaction models recapitulate leaf microbiota ecology. Science 2023; 381:eadf5121. [PMID: 37410834 DOI: 10.1126/science.adf5121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023]
Abstract
Resource allocation affects the structure of microbiomes, including those associated with living hosts. Understanding the degree to which this dependency determines interspecies interactions may advance efforts to control host-microbiome relationships. We combined synthetic community experiments with computational models to predict interaction outcomes between plant-associated bacteria. We mapped the metabolic capabilities of 224 leaf isolates from Arabidopsis thaliana by assessing the growth of each strain on 45 environmentally relevant carbon sources in vitro. We used these data to build curated genome-scale metabolic models for all strains, which we combined to simulate >17,500 interactions. The models recapitulated outcomes observed in planta with >89% accuracy, highlighting the role of carbon utilization and the contributions of niche partitioning and cross-feeding in the assembly of leaf microbiomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Schäfer
- Institute of Microbiology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Alan R Pacheco
- Institute of Microbiology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Rahel Künzler
- Institute of Microbiology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Evangelia Vayena
- Laboratory of Computational Systems Biotechnology, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Vassily Hatzimanikatis
- Laboratory of Computational Systems Biotechnology, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
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10
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Pacheco AR, Vorholt JA. Resolving metabolic interaction mechanisms in plant microbiomes. Curr Opin Microbiol 2023; 74:102317. [PMID: 37062173 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2023.102317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/16/2023] [Indexed: 04/18/2023]
Abstract
Metabolic interactions are fundamental to the assembly and functioning of microbiomes, including those of plants. However, disentangling the molecular basis of these interactions and their specific roles remains a major challenge. Here, we review recent applications of experimental and computational methods toward the elucidation of metabolic interactions in plant-associated microbiomes. We highlight studies that span various scales of taxonomic and environmental complexity, including those that test interaction outcomes in vitro and in planta by deconstructing microbial communities. We also discuss how the continued integration of multiple methods can further reveal the general ecological characteristics of plant microbiomes, as well as provide strategies for applications in areas such as improved plant protection, bioremediation, and sustainable agriculture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan R Pacheco
- Institute of Microbiology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
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11
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van den Berg NI, Machado D, Santos S, Rocha I, Chacón J, Harcombe W, Mitri S, Patil KR. Ecological modelling approaches for predicting emergent properties in microbial communities. Nat Ecol Evol 2022; 6:855-865. [PMID: 35577982 PMCID: PMC7613029 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01746-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Recent studies have brought forward the critical role of emergent properties in shaping microbial communities and the ecosystems of which they are a part. Emergent properties-patterns or functions that cannot be deduced linearly from the properties of the constituent parts-underlie important ecological characteristics such as resilience, niche expansion and spatial self-organization. While it is clear that emergent properties are a consequence of interactions within the community, their non-linear nature makes mathematical modelling imperative for establishing the quantitative link between community structure and function. As the need for conservation and rational modulation of microbial ecosystems is increasingly apparent, so is the consideration of the benefits and limitations of the approaches to model emergent properties. Here we review ecosystem modelling approaches from the viewpoint of emergent properties. We consider the scope, advantages and limitations of Lotka-Volterra, consumer-resource, trait-based, individual-based and genome-scale metabolic models. Future efforts in this research area would benefit from capitalizing on the complementarity between these approaches towards enabling rational modulation of complex microbial ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Daniel Machado
- Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Sophia Santos
- Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal
| | - Isabel Rocha
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Jeremy Chacón
- Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - William Harcombe
- Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Sara Mitri
- Département de Microbiologie Fondamentale, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Kiran R Patil
- Medical Research Council Toxicology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
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