Division of labor
Competition causes microbes to organize themselves into communities that make the most of the available nutrients.
Microbes are found in virtually every environment on Earth. Like other organisms, microbes grow by using enzymes to convert nutrients into proteins, DNA and other molecules that make up their cells. Together, these chemical transformations define the “metabolism” of a microbe.
In any given environment, there is almost always a diverse variety of microbes living together. Different microbes in these communities will use different combinations of enzymes to exploit the available nutrients, and members of well-studied communities have been found to work together to make the most of the nutrient source. This is remarkable because one might expect competition between microbes to select for a single “best” microbe, rather than diverse communities.
The economic concept of “division of labor” suggests that if microbes divide chemical tasks between each other, they will use the available resources more efficiently. The concept provides a possible explanation for metabolic diversity amongst microbes, yet it remains to be shown whether microbial communities actually benefit from a division of labor.
Here, Thibaud Taillefumier and colleagues used mathematical models to reveal that even in a uniform environment, metabolic competition generally leads to the steady coexistence of distinct microbes, collectively called a “consortium”. In a consortium, distinct microbes organize themselves to create a community-level metabolism that best exploits the nutrients present. The models showed that while growing, a consortium depletes the available pool of nutrients to such low levels that only members of the consortium can survive. The findings suggest that the benefit of metabolic diversity stems from the ability of a consortium to automatically deplete nutrients to levels at which no other microbes can invade.
Taillefumier et al. propose that consortia that arise naturally under conditions where there is a steady supply of nutrients produce the maximum mass of microbes. Future experiments that analyze the impact of fluctuating nutrient supply may help us to understand the benefit of metabolic diversity in real-world microbial communities.
To find out more
Read the eLife research paper on which this eLife digest is based: “Microbial consortia at steady supply” (May 5, 2017).
