Synthetic microbial communities for studying the fate and ecological role of specialized metabolites

Abstract

A wide range of microbially produced specialized metabolites (SMs) with bioactivity affecting micro- and macro-organisms has been described. These bioactive compounds are synthesized by enzyme complexes encoded in biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). Historically, the first role of SMs was revealed through antimicrobial activity-based assays. However, diverse bioactivities have since been deciphered that are not associated with inhibition of other organisms. To advance discoveries in chemical ecology, synthetic microbial communities (SynComs), simplified, experimentally tractable systems that recapitulate specific features of natural microbiomes, are increasingly employed. SynComs enable the systematic investigation of SM-mediated induction of BGC expression, the characterization of SM bioconversions, and the elucidation of the mechanism by which SMs influence microbial establishment and persistence within communities. Due to their reduced complexity, SynComs allow the controlled determination of microbial community composition and functional dynamics, as well as the characterization of associated chemical diversity. This review highlights representative publications describing how SynComs are employed to elucidate the roles of SMs in complex microbial interactions and emphasizes the emerging functions observed in SynCom-based chemical ecology studies.