Distribution of Functions in Microbiomes
Microbes with different metabolic capabilities exchange metabolites, forming a distributed metabolic network.
Microbes live in complex communities where they interact in various ways with other microbes. One type of interactions is the exchange of metabolic intermediates among microbes with different metabolic capabilities. This results in a distributed, collective metabolism. The organising principles, structure and features of these distributed metabolic networks are not well understood. We explore:
- How proteome efficient metabolism of individuals drives metabolic interactions and the distributed metabolism of microbial communities (Matthias)
- What factors that determine the degree of metabolic distribution in microbial ecosystems (Alyssa)
- How distributed metabolism in microbial communities can be modelled mathematically, taking into account temporally and spatially heterogeneous conditions (Benjamin)
- The effects of functional redundancy and bacterial interaction networks on functional stability in microbial communities (Anna)
- How nutrient utilisation strategies affect microbial coexistence (Megan)
The ecology of phages within microbiomes
This is a new area we are starting to explore more deeply. Stay tuned for more!
Phages are very prevalent in microbial communities.