Microbes play an important role in various aspects of our lives, from our own health to the health of our environment. In almost all of their natural habitats, microbes live in dense communities composed of different strains and species that interact with each other. As these microbes evolve, so do the interactions between them, which alters the functioning of the community as a whole.
In this project, we have developed theoretical and experimental tools to study and control evolving interactions between cells and species living in microbial ecosystems. We have accomplished three main research objectives: first, we have coupled theory and experiments to disentangle and characterize the social interactions between four bacterial species that make up an ecosystem used to degrade industrial pollutants. Our second objective was to use this knowledge to control this same ecosystem, by directing it toward increased productivity and stability. Finally, our third objective was to "breed" novel communities from scratch using experimental evolution to promote cooperative interactions between community members and thereby increase productivity.
This interdisciplinary and ambitious research has allowed us to improve existing methods in pollution degradation, and to design new microbial communities for this and, in the future, for other purposes. More generally, our model system has provided an in-depth conceptual understanding of microbial ecosystems and their evolution, and the tools to investigate more complex microbial communities. Our ultimate vision is to possess the technology to use microbial communities to degrade waste, generate efficient biofuels, and design customized treatments for intestinal diseases. This project has laid the foundations needed to develop this technology, and open many exciting avenues for future research.
