Putting microbial interactions back into community contexts

Microbial interactions are key aspects of the biology of microbiomes. Recently, there has been a shift in the field towards studying interactions in more representative contexts, whether using multispecies model microbial communities or by looking at interactions in situ. Across diverse microbial systems, these studies have begun to identify common interaction mechanisms. These mechanisms include interactions related to toxic molecules, nutrient competition and cross-feeding, access to metals, signaling pathways, pH changes, and interactions within biofilms. Leveraging technological innovations, many of these studies have used an interdisciplinary approach combining genetic, metabolomic, imaging, and/or microfluidic techniques to gain insight into mechanisms of microbial interactions and into the impact of these interactions on microbiomes.