Open Meeting: Synthetic microbial ecology -what we can learn via “synthetic” approach- (8 Sep 2025)

Synthetic microbial ecology -what we can learn via “synthetic” approach-

Synthetic microbial communities are model systems with reduced complexity which can be used to seek a holistic and mechanistic understanding of (micro-)ecosystems. We employ building-up approaches as well as knock-out approaches to examine the roles of each member. Furthermore, the synthetic approaches generalize the observations made in microbial ecosystems to investigate the assembly and stability of complex ecosystems; diversity-productivity relationships, diversity-robustness relationships, and evolution-cooperativity relationships. These researches integrate laboratory experiments with mathematical modeling to develop and examine microbial ecological theory.
However, it is not easy to reproduce natural microbial ecosystems by a defined mixed culture. In this research meeting, we invite two speakers who have successfully established synthetic microbial communities to investigate the stability and function of microbiomes in addition to microbe-microbe interaction and host-microbes interaction. We would like to discuss what and how we can learn via “synthetic” approach for understanding of the assembly rules in microbial communities.

Date & Time: 8 September (Mon) 17:15 ~ 19:15
Venue: Institute of Science Tokyo (Ookayama Campus, Tokyo)

Speakers
-Babak Momeni（Boston College）: bacterial community in the nasal passage of human
-Ryo Miyazaki（AIST）: bacterial community in the gut of bee

Convenors
Shin Haruta (Tokyo Metropolitan University)
Kenshi Suzuki (Kyushu University)