Real-time monitoring of metabolites in bacterial cultures is crucial for advancing our understanding of microbial physiology, metabolic fluxes, and dynamic responses to environmental changes. This capability enables researchers to capture transient metabolic states that are often missed in endpoint measurements. The use of engineered periplasmic binding proteins as biosensors for this real-time metabolite monitoring represents a groundbreaking approach. By leveraging the natural specificity and high affinity of PBPs for small molecules, these biosensors can be engineered to detect a wide range of metabolites with exceptional sensitivity and temporal resolution. The integration of PBP-based biosensors into microbial research not only enhances our ability to study real-time metabolism but also provides a versatile tool for optimizing industrial bioprocesses and exploring bacterial infections and complex microbial ecosystems

Niche partitioning promotes diversity of the human gut microbiota. However, the molecular basis of resource specialization and niche separation in the gut remains poorly understood. Here we show that ...

Mathematical modelling and experimental tests reveal principles that govern displacement of a resident strain by an invader in microbial communities.

In this Perspective, Estrela and Huang discuss nutrient starvation in the context of the gut microbiome, outlining what is known and highlighting key questions for future research to address knowledge gaps.

When we created this site to write about things in science that need to be fixed, we chose not to start with publishing, even though it has been our preoccupation for decades.

Microbiomes can exhibit low variability in functional profile despite high variability in taxonomic composition, often interpreted as indicating selection for functions. We show that reduced functiona...

Abstract. Human activities cause a global loss of soil microbiome diversity and functionality. One way to reverse this trend is through microbiota transpla

Experimental perturbation of soil pH leads to a generalizable model of the soil microcosm comprising three functional regimes with distinct mechanisms linking environmental change to metabolite dynami...

Species in microbial communities must respond to the presence of others to stave off resource competition or to capitalise on new resources that may become available due to additional metabolic activi...

Is killing animals an effective way to regulate populations?

“Paradox of the sub-plankton: Plausible mechanisms and open problems underlying strain-level diversity in microbial communities” by Akshit Goyal* and Griffin Chure*. This work highlights the limitati...

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...