Michael Brockhurst

#NewPaper — how does #HGT affect #microbiome dynamics and stability?

Using models + experiments we show that mobile resistance genes generally increase microbiome stability. But effects can differ markedly for donors and recipients of mobile genes and also depends on how species interact — sometimes causing entirely opposing effects on the stability of different species

#AMR #Plasmid

@PLOSBiology

https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3001847

Horizontal gene transfer and ecological interactions jointly control microbiome stability

What is the impact of resistance genes and their mobility on the dynamics of microbial communities? This study develops and tests a new body of eco-evolutionary theory to explore how ecological interactions and horizontal gene transfer combine to shape microbiome stability.

Nov 10, 2022 at 9:23amWeb
Show threadAnirban MahapatraNov 10, 2022
@PLOSBiology @BrockhurstLab Great paper. Loved this sentence in particular — “Before we can engineer our microbiomes in a targeted manner, however, we need means of systematically understanding and predicting how these communities change over time.”
Show threadMichael BrockhurstNov 10, 2022
@PLOSBiology @anirban thanks Anirban! 🙌 I’d love to take credit, but I think that line is one of Kat’s 😁
Show threadAnirban MahapatraNov 10, 2022
@BrockhurstLab @PLOSBiology it is one of my pet peeves with respect to how microbiome work is reflected in much of the media. Perfect encapsulation. 😊
Show threadMichael BrockhurstNov 10, 2022
@PLOSBiology @anirban yes, the biotech/health end of the microbiome field is generally naive about the ecological complexity of the system, and that’s even before including eco-evo dynamics and HGT! Definitely lots to do…
Show threadAnirban MahapatraNov 10, 2022
@PLOSBiology @BrockhurstLab Exactly. Synthetic biologists go where biologists fear to tread (and we fear for good reason).