Microbial consortia, as a biological process, refers to the dynamic, functionally integrated interactions among multiple co-occurring microbial species that collectively perform metabolic activities not achievable by individual taxa alone. These processes include syntrophy, cross-feeding, metabolic division of labor, and coordinated responses to environmental cues, often regulated through cell–cell signaling and resource partitioning. Within consortia, emergent properties such as enhanced stability, resilience to perturbation, and optimized biogeochemical cycling arise from coupled metabolic networks and spatial organization. Microbial consortia underlie key processes in natural and engineered systems, including nutrient turnover, waste degradation, bioremediation, and host-associated microbiome functions.
Blessed are the tiny cheesemakers: scientists have mapped out the bacteria responsible for giving three British cheeses their distinct flavor, which may also be beneficial to human health. Scientists in the Food Microbial ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 21, 2026
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Intensive agriculture poses a significant threat to global biodiversity. However, one aspect of biodiversity in farmland is little studied: algae. Most people have seen algae growing in streams, lakes or the sea. However, ...
Ecology
May 18, 2026
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Researchers at the Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures have conducted high-resolution investigations of the so-called cyanosphere, the "housing community" of cyanobacteria. The focus ...
Ecology
May 13, 2026
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83
What if fog isn't just misty air, but a living ecosystem? This question hung over cloud researcher Thi Thuong Thuong Cao. As a Ph.D. student at Arizona State University, her curiosity led her from knocking on the doors of ...
Ecology
May 12, 2026
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35
A reexamination of microfossils found in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul shows that the marks previously interpreted as traces of worms or other small oceanic animals are actually communities of fossilized microscopic ...
Cell & Microbiology
May 11, 2026
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A University of Florida study has made a key discovery in understanding a disease that for over a century has plagued the white button mushroom—a nutrient-dense vegetable that is valued for its versatility and health benefits. ...
Ecology
May 10, 2026
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Heat stress from marine heat waves can create a toxic relationship between seagrasses and a hidden ecosystem of bacteria, transforming a previously beneficial co-existence between marine plants and microbes into a harmful ...
Ecology
May 6, 2026
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Scientists led by the University of Southampton have revealed that an imbalance of nutrients in seawater can cause coral disease—possibly to a greater extent than that from heat stress of warming oceans. New research conducted ...
Ecology
May 5, 2026
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19
New research from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, published in Nature Microbiology, reveals that when microbes live together, they can sense one another and actively reduce competition by shifting toward different roles ...
Ecology
Apr 29, 2026
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10
Researchers at University of Toronto's Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry have made a key discovery about how certain bacterial strains produce a set of economically valuable chemicals—opening the door ...
Cell & Microbiology
Apr 22, 2026
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