A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Construction and Characterization of Synthetic Bacterial Community for Experimental Ecology and Evolution
Authors: Cairns J, Jokela R, Hultman J, Tamminen M, Virta M, Hiltunen T
Publisher: FRONTIERS MEDIA SA
Publication year: 2018
Journal: Frontiers in Genetics
Journal name in source: FRONTIERS IN GENETICS
Journal acronym: FRONT GENET
Article number: ARTN 312
Volume: 9
Number of pages: 12
ISSN: 1664-8021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2018.00312(external)
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/35726847(external)
Experimental microbial ecology and evolution have yielded foundational insights into ecological and evolutionary processes using simple microcosm setups and phenotypic assays with one- or two-species model systems. The fields are now increasingly incorporating more complex systems and exploration of the molecular basis of observations. For this purpose, simplified, manageable and well-defined multispecies model systems are required that can be easily investigated using culturing and high-throughput sequencing approaches, bridging the gap between simpler and more complex synthetic or natural systems. Here we address this need by constructing a completely synthetic 33 bacterial strain community that can be cultured in simple laboratory conditions. We provide whole-genome data for all the strains as well as metadata about genomic features and phenotypic traits that allow resolving individual strains by amplicon sequencing and facilitate a variety of envisioned mechanistic studies. We further show that a large proportion of the strains exhibit coexistence in co-culture over serial transfer for 48 days in the absence of any experimental manipulation to maintain diversity. The constructed bacterial community can be a valuable resource in future experimental work.
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