Microbial consortium

[16][17][18] For instance, a termite gut-derived consortium showing a high xylanase activity was enriched on raw wheat straw as the sole carbon source, which was able to transform lignocellulose into carboxylates under anaerobic conditions.

[20][21] This intrinsic diversity may stand as a bottleneck in attempts to move forward to practical application due to (i) potential negative correlation with efficiency,[22] (ii) real microbial cheaters whose presence has no impacts on degradation, (iii) security threats posed by the presence of known or unknown pathogens, and (iv) risks of losing the properties of interest if supported by rare taxa.

[24] For instance, a large proportion of functional genes were remarkably altered and the efficiency of diesel biodegradation was increased by reducing the biodiversity of a microbial community from diesel-contaminated soils.

A reductive-screening approach was applied to construct effective minimal microbial consortia for lignocellulose degradation based on different metabolic functional groups.

[citation needed] Today modern microbialites are scarce, and are formed mainly by Pseudomonadota (formerly Proteobacteria), cyanobacteria, sulphate-reducing bacteria, diatoms, and microalgae.

[citation needed] These microorganisms produce adhesive compounds that cement sand and join other rocky materials to form mineral "microbial mats".

This occurs, in part, due to the fact that multiple species can perform a variety of tasks in an ecosystem like the plant root rhizosphere.

Beneficial mechanisms of plant growth stimulation include enhanced nutrient availability, phytohormone modulation, biocontrol, biotic and abiotic stress tolerance) exerted by different microbial players within the rhizosphere, such as plant-growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) and fungi such as Trichoderma and Mycorrhizae.

However, assembly of simplified microbial consortia (SMC) from complex environmental communities is still far from trivial due to large diversity and the effect of biotic interactions.

[23] In 2020 Kang et al., using a strategy based on enrichment and dilution-to-extinction cultures, extracted from this original consortium (KMCG6) a simplified microbial consortia (SMC) with fewer species but similar keratinolytic activity.

Further sequencing analysis and keratinolytic activity assays demonstrated that obtained SMC displayed actual reduced microbial diversity, together with various taxonomic composition, and biodegradation capabilities.

This process was evaluated by functional assessments (cell density, enzymes activity, and ratio of the residual substrate) and compositional analysis.

Additionally, bacteria have been identified as existing within the brain (previously believed to be sterile), with metagenomic evidence suggesting the species found may be enteric in origin.

Microbial consortia naturally formed
on the roots of Arabidopsis thaliana
Scanning electron microscopy pictures of root surfaces from natural A. thaliana populations showing the complex microbial networks formed on roots.
a) Overview of an A. thaliana root (primary root) with numerous root hairs. b) Biofilm-forming bacteria. c) Fungal or oomycete hyphae surrounding the root surface. d) Primary root densely covered by spores and protists . e, f) Protists , most likely belonging to the Bacillariophyceae class. g) Bacteria and bacterial filaments . h, i) Different bacterial individuals showing great varieties of shapes and morphological features. [ 7 ]
Rhizosphere microbial consortia [ 31 ]
Workflow of enrichment and dilution-to-extinction cultures to select simplified microbial consortia (SMC) for keratin degradation. [ 23 ]
Painting of a cross-section through an Escherichia coli bacterium, a chemoheterotrophic bacterium often used in synthetic microbial consortia.