1. 제목 : Space, Microbial Complex Network, and Microfluidics
 

2. 일시 : 2011년 3월 10일(목) , 5:00 P.M.
 

3. 장소 : 301동 1512-2호

4. 연사 : 김현중 박사 (Wyss Institute, Harvard University )

 

5. 내용요약 :

      The functions performed by microbial communities are incredibly important for climate, agriculture, environment, and human health. However, the networks of interacting microbes that carry out these complex functions are poorly understood. Furthermore harnessing the function of these communities is difficult: microbial communities in a well-mixed culture become easily unstable because of “winner-takes-all” competition among species. Here, a synthetic model community was constructed using three species of wild-type soil bacteria displaying syntrophic interactions. A microfluidic device was used to modulate spatiotemporal dynamics and chemical communications of this synthetic community. The defined microscale spatial structure was both necessary and sufficient for the stable coexistence of the interacting bacterial species in this community, as “Fences make good neighbors”. A mathematical model described how spatial structure controls the metabolic activity of each species by balancing the rates of production and consumption of nutrients under the nonlinearity regime. As a proof of concept, another synthetic bacterial community was created to perform complex bioremediation functions that individual microbes or a well-mixed community cannot perform. We constructed a core–shell structured fiber where two different species are sequentially positioned, which enabled to completely remove pentachlorophenol and mercuric ion simultaneously. However, neither a single species nor a well-mixed community could completely remediate a complex toxic mixture. Constituting a synthetic microbial community may be considered as a section of synthetic biology where genetic engineering is not necessarily required. These bioinspired engineering approaches can be applied to harness complex functions using a spatially structured community of microbes, which is especially relevant for environmental or therapeutic application. 
 

7. 문의 : 기계항공공학부 서갑양 교수(880-9103)