Disentangling the feedback loops driving spatial patterning in microbial communities

2025/02/20 by A. D. Henderson, Alessia Del Panta, Olga T. Schubert +2 · 1 voice · 17 citations
Computer Science · Environmental Science · Social Sciences · #Biology #Computer science #Ecology #Ecosystem dynamics and resilience #Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation #Nonlinear Dynamics and Pattern Formation

paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/s41522-025-00666-1

published in npj Biofilms and Microbiomes 11(1), 32 (Nature Portfolio)

openalex publication_date 2025/02/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06

Abstract

The properties of multispecies biofilms are determined by how species are arranged in space. How these patterns emerge is a complex and largely unsolved problem. Here, we synthesize the known factors affecting pattern formation, identify the interdependencies and feedback loops coupling them, and discuss approaches to disentangle their effects. Finally, we propose an interdisciplinary research program that could create a predictive understanding of pattern formation in microbial communities.

Citations

• Surface Sensing and Adaptation in Bacteria

Cited by

• Spatial structure: shaping the ecology and evolution of microbial communities
• Deciphering microbial spatial organization: insights from synthetic and engineered communities. [europepmc]
• Individual-based modeling unravels spatial and social interactions in bacterial communities. [europepmc]
• National-scale biogeography and function of river and stream bacterial biofilm communities. [europepmc]
• Spatial structure: shaping the ecology and evolution of microbial communities. [europepmc]
• Microbial Interactions Shape Spatial Organisation and Transcriptional Responses in a Model Mixed-Species Biofilm. [europepmc]
• Interplay of Spatial Structure and Interactions in Microbial Communities. [europepmc]
• Advances in synthetic microbial ecosystems approach for studying ecological interactions and their influencing factors. [europepmc]
• Substrate toxicity drives successive range expansions opposing spatial intermixing in cross-feeding consortia. [europepmc]
• Small-scale biogeography of biofilms and its implications for sequencing-based studies. [europepmc]
• Biofilm Formation and Plastic Degradation in Bacteria from Different Environments: Evidence for Phenotypic Acclimation and Metabolic Exaptation. [europepmc]

Discussions

• What determines the spatial structure of microbial communities? In our new review we discuss the factors and feedbacks that affect spatial patterning and methods to study them. Great collaboration w. [bsky, 23 points, 0 comments]

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