Molecular and Cellular Biology researchers develop new way to model gut microbiome in lab settings by adding viruses back in

Research on microbiomes —the communities of microorganisms living in a variety of environments, including the human body, soils and oceans— has grown rapidly in recent years.  These studies are advancing our understanding of the role of microbiomes in a variety of human diseases, including intestinal diseases and mental health disorders, as well as their impact in agriculture, natural ecosystems and industry.

In the lab, microbiologists study these communities by cultivating microorganisms inside bioreactors or mice, but the process of building a synthetic microbiome isn’t perfect. To study the human gut microbiome, for instance, researchers dilute a fecal sample containing billions of bacteria down to a few dozen bacterial cells. This process often leaves out bacteria-infecting viruses, a natural part of most people’s gut microbiome, since there are far fewer of them than bacteria.

While the role of viruses in the gut microbiome is not well understood, a bacterial community without viruses might behave differently than one with viruses – and that difference could impact how scientists learn about microbiomes using synthetic models. Read more here.