Berlin 2024 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 20: Poster IIIa

BP 20.37: Poster

Wednesday, March 20, 2024, 11:00–14:30, Poster B

Systematic Classification and Quantification of Microbial Interactions — •Timon Wittenstein, Gerrit Ansmann, Adriana Espinosa-Cantú, and Tobias Bollenbach — Institute for Biological Physics, University of Cologne, Germany

Microbial communities play a vital role in Earth’s ecosystems, yet understanding how individual interactions shape the emergent properties of such communities remains a challenge. In a simplified laboratory system, we integrate theory and experiment to explore microbial interactions, focusing on a gut bacteria collection of the model organism C. elegans.

Informed by theoretical considerations, we employ a conditioned media approach to quantify pairwise interactions between individuals, aiming to differentiate various interaction types beyond just positive and negative classifications. We are able to identify trophic behaviours, such as resource competition or the exchange of nutrients, as well as more direct ‘strong’ interactions, like the transfer of toxins or vitamins.

The resulting interaction data unveils relationships among ecological interactions. For instance, competing populations exhibit more negative strong interactions, while more complex environments foster increased syntrophic interactions. Furthermore, these insights allow us to build a dynamical model and then quantitatively test its predictions in an experiment, offering a comprehensive approach for a deeper understanding of microbial ecology.

Keywords: Microbial communities; Ecology; Interactions; Ecological modeling