AIMS   To determine the kinetics of substrate fluxes in a microbial community in order to elucidate the roles of the community members. METHODS AND RESULTS   The kinetics of substrate sharing in a bacterial consortium were measured by a new analytical approach combining immunostaining, stable isotope probing and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). The bacterial consortium, consisting ...

Mammalian intestinal surfaces are in constant and intimate contact with a vast consortium of indigenous commensal bacteria. As a result, gut epithelia have evolved an array of strategies for limiting bacterial invasion into deeper tissues, helping to preserve the mutually beneficial nature of intestinal host-microbial relationships. In this review, we discuss a growing body of evidence indicati...

Given our vast methane reserves and the difficulty in transporting methane without substantial leaks, the conversion of methane directly into electricity would be beneficial. Microbial fuel cells harness electrical power from a wide variety of substrates through biological means; however, the greenhouse gas methane has not been used with much success previously as a substrate in microbial fuel ...

We analyzed metabolic interactions and the importance of specific structural relationships in a benzyl alcohol-degrading microbial consortium comprising two species, Pseudomonas putida strain R1 and Acinetobacter strain C6, both of which are able to utilize benzyl alcohol as their sole carbon and energy source. The organisms were grown either as surface-attached organisms (biofilms) in flow cha...