A multidimensional perspective on microbial interactions. Issue 11 (11th June 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pacheco, Alan R; Segrè, Daniel
• Is Part Of: FEMS microbiology letters. Volume 366:Issue 11(2019)
• Publication Date: 2019-06-11
• Subjects: microbial interactions -- microbial communities -- mutualism -- microbiome -- microbial ecology -- systems biology of metabolism; Microbiology -- Periodicals; 579
• DOI: 10.1093/femsle/fnz125
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0378-1097

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Beyond being simply positive or negative, beneficial or inhibitory, microbial interactions can involve a diverse set of mechanisms, dependencies and dynamical properties. These more nuanced features have been described in great detail for some specific types of interactions, (e.g. pairwise metabolic cross-feeding, quorum sensing or antibiotic killing), often with the use of quantitative measurements and insight derived from modeling. With a growing understanding of the composition and dynamics of complex microbial communities for human health and other applications, we face the challenge of integrating information about these different interactions into comprehensive quantitative frameworks. Here, we review the literature on a wide set of microbial interactions, and explore the potential value of a formal categorization based on multidimensional vectors of attributes. We propose that such an encoding can facilitate systematic, direct comparisons of interaction mechanisms and dependencies, and we discuss the relevance of an atlas of interactions for future modeling and rational design efforts. Abstract : Reports of inter-species interactions in microbial communities contain abundant information that defies simple ecological categorizations. Vectors of attributes can formally capture this knowledge, helping create interaction catalogues and predictive models.