Led by Jonasz Słomka
Microbial communities impact human health, global biogeochemical cycles, and plant growth. Properties of microbial communities emerge from the interactions between their members and between members and the environment. At the scale of the organisms, cell–cell and cell–resource encounters are essential first steps of microbial interactions. Encounter rates thus exert strong control on the timescales characterizing the interactions. We study experimentally and theoretically how encounter rates depend on cell phenotypes and environmental conditions, which is key to testing hypotheses on mechanisms at play.
Funding: SNSF Ambizione