(566a) Micro-Droplet Enabled Co-Cultivation, Isolation, Andinteraction Characterization of Microbial Communities
AIChE Annual Meeting
2017
2017 Annual Meeting
Topical Conference: Microbiomes and Microbial Communities
Probing and Understanding Microbiomes and Microbial Communities (Invited Talks)
Wednesday, November 1, 2017 - 1:00pm to 1:20pm
Microorganisms live in synergistic communities in nature and play key
roles in numerous natural or engineered systems. For example, there
are increasing evidences that microbes in our gut assist in digesting
food, help prevent the invasion of pathogens, and stimulate the immune
system. However, the basic physiological and ecological mechanisms
governing these complex microbial communities remain largely unclear.
We have been exploiting droplet microfluidics for co-cultivation and
dissection of symbiotic microbial communities. By encapsulating
subsets of a microbial community in nano-liter droplets, we provide
highly parallel localized environments for co-growth and aim to
identify microbial interactions. The conceptual and technological
framework is being applied to the investigation of the human gut and
vaginal microbiomes.
roles in numerous natural or engineered systems. For example, there
are increasing evidences that microbes in our gut assist in digesting
food, help prevent the invasion of pathogens, and stimulate the immune
system. However, the basic physiological and ecological mechanisms
governing these complex microbial communities remain largely unclear.
We have been exploiting droplet microfluidics for co-cultivation and
dissection of symbiotic microbial communities. By encapsulating
subsets of a microbial community in nano-liter droplets, we provide
highly parallel localized environments for co-growth and aim to
identify microbial interactions. The conceptual and technological
framework is being applied to the investigation of the human gut and
vaginal microbiomes.