Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Ecological Niches02:02

Ecological Niches

23.8K
All organisms have a position within an ecosystem. The complete set of living and nonliving factors—including food resources, climate, and terrain—that define the position of a given organism are collectively referred to as the organism’s ecological niche.
23.8K
Environmental Applications of Microorganisms01:30

Environmental Applications of Microorganisms

78
Microorganisms play a pivotal role in maintaining ecosystem balance by recycling essential elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, as well as supporting processes like bioremediation, wastewater treatment, and biofuel production.Microbes in Elemental CyclesIn the carbon cycle, microorganisms decompose organic matter, releasing carbon dioxide via aerobic respiration. This carbon dioxide is subsequently used by photosynthetic organisms to synthesize organic compounds, closing the...
78

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Dye-Decolorizing Peroxidase for Lignin Depolymerization: a Comprehensive Review on Enzyme Structural Characteristics, Reaction-Influencing Factors and Efficiency-Enhancing Strategies.

Applied biochemistry and biotechnology·2026
Same author

The bioproduction of prodigiosin: A comprehensive review on the microbial biosynthesis, regulatory mechanism and cost-effective fermentation strategies.

Biotechnology advances·2026
Same author

Engineering the robustness of Meyerozyma guilliermondii for efficient 2-phenylethanol biosynthesis.

Metabolic engineering·2026
Same author

Lifestyle intervention to improve sleep quality in Chinese college students: a systematic review.

Frontiers in psychiatry·2026
Same author

Innovating biomanufacturing with coculture-based engineered living materials.

Trends in biotechnology·2026
Same author

Unraveling the biosynthesis and regulation mechanism of bacterial cellulose: Challenges and strategies toward industrial production.

Carbohydrate polymers·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 28, 2025

Author Spotlight: Developing Synthetic Microbial Communities for Generating Second-Generation Biofertilizers
04:29

Author Spotlight: Developing Synthetic Microbial Communities for Generating Second-Generation Biofertilizers

Published on: May 24, 2024

874

Customized spatial niches for synthetic microbial consortia.

Hao Gao1, Wankui Jiang1, Wenming Zhang2

  • 1State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211800, P.R. China.

Trends in Biotechnology
|June 3, 2023
PubMed
Summary

Creating stable synthetic microbial consortia is difficult due to strain competition. A promising strategy involves designing spatial niches to partition microbial subpopulations, mimicking natural ecosystems for enhanced stability.

Keywords:
living materialmicrobial consortiaspatial niches

More Related Videos

Assembly and Tracking of Microbial Community Development within a Microwell Array Platform
09:24

Assembly and Tracking of Microbial Community Development within a Microwell Array Platform

Published on: June 6, 2017

9.0K
Assessing the Viability of a Synthetic Bacterial Consortium on the In Vitro Gut Host-microbe Interface
10:24

Assessing the Viability of a Synthetic Bacterial Consortium on the In Vitro Gut Host-microbe Interface

Published on: July 4, 2018

11.7K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 28, 2025

Author Spotlight: Developing Synthetic Microbial Communities for Generating Second-Generation Biofertilizers
04:29

Author Spotlight: Developing Synthetic Microbial Communities for Generating Second-Generation Biofertilizers

Published on: May 24, 2024

874
Assembly and Tracking of Microbial Community Development within a Microwell Array Platform
09:24

Assembly and Tracking of Microbial Community Development within a Microwell Array Platform

Published on: June 6, 2017

9.0K
Assessing the Viability of a Synthetic Bacterial Consortium on the In Vitro Gut Host-microbe Interface
10:24

Assessing the Viability of a Synthetic Bacterial Consortium on the In Vitro Gut Host-microbe Interface

Published on: July 4, 2018

11.7K

Area of Science:

  • Synthetic biology
  • Microbial ecology
  • Ecosystem engineering

Background:

  • Synthetic microbial consortia are a frontier in biotechnology.
  • Maintaining stability in artificial communities is challenging due to competitive exclusion by dominant strains.
  • Natural ecosystems offer models for stable community assembly.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore a novel approach for constructing stable synthetic microbial consortia.
  • To investigate the role of spatial structuring in microbial community stability.
  • To leverage principles from natural ecosystems for designing artificial communities.

Main Methods:

  • Designing and constructing spatial niches within synthetic environments.
  • Partitioning microbial subpopulations into distinct spatial niches.
  • Overlapping essential abiotic requirements across niches to promote interaction.

Main Results:

  • Demonstrated that spatial partitioning can mitigate competitive exclusion.
  • Showcased the potential for enhanced stability in spatially structured consortia.
  • Identified overlapping abiotic requirements as a key factor for co-existence.

Conclusions:

  • Spatial niche construction is a viable strategy for building stable synthetic microbial consortia.
  • This approach offers a promising pathway to overcome limitations in artificial microbial community assembly.
  • The findings provide a foundation for engineering more robust and predictable microbial ecosystems.