MetaFlowTrain: a highly parallelized and modular fluidic system for studying exometabolite-mediated inter-organismal interactions
Abstract Metabolic fluxes between cells, organisms, or communities drive ecosystem assembly and functioning and explain higher-level biological organization. Exometabolite-mediated inter-organismal interactions, however, remain poorly described due to technical challenges in measuring these interact...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58530-x |
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| _version_ | 1849726217778888704 |
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| author | Guillaume Chesneau Johannes Herpell Sarah Marie Wolf Silvina Perin Stéphane Hacquard |
| author_facet | Guillaume Chesneau Johannes Herpell Sarah Marie Wolf Silvina Perin Stéphane Hacquard |
| author_sort | Guillaume Chesneau |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Metabolic fluxes between cells, organisms, or communities drive ecosystem assembly and functioning and explain higher-level biological organization. Exometabolite-mediated inter-organismal interactions, however, remain poorly described due to technical challenges in measuring these interactions. Here, we present MetaFlowTrain, an easy-to-assemble, cheap, semi-high-throughput, and modular fluidic system in which multiple media can be flushed at adjustable flow rates into gnotobiotic microchambers accommodating diverse micro-organisms, ranging from bacteria to small eukaryotes. These microchambers can be used alone or connected in series to create microchamber trains within which metabolites, but not organisms, directionally travel between microchambers to modulate organismal growth. Using MetaFlowTrain, we uncover soil conditioning effects on synthetic community structure and plant growth, and reveal microbial antagonism mediated by exometabolite production. Our study highlights MetaFlowTrain as a versatile system for investigating plant-microbe-microbe metabolic interactions. We also discuss the system´s potential to discover metabolites that function as signaling molecules, drugs, or antimicrobials across various systems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-cf9437cf708341e2929ef54d5c8844dc |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-cf9437cf708341e2929ef54d5c8844dc2025-08-20T03:10:14ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-04-0116111410.1038/s41467-025-58530-xMetaFlowTrain: a highly parallelized and modular fluidic system for studying exometabolite-mediated inter-organismal interactionsGuillaume Chesneau0Johannes Herpell1Sarah Marie Wolf2Silvina Perin3Stéphane Hacquard4Department of Plant Microbe Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding ResearchDepartment of Plant Microbe Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding ResearchDepartment of Plant Microbe Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding ResearchDepartment of Plant Microbe Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding ResearchDepartment of Plant Microbe Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding ResearchAbstract Metabolic fluxes between cells, organisms, or communities drive ecosystem assembly and functioning and explain higher-level biological organization. Exometabolite-mediated inter-organismal interactions, however, remain poorly described due to technical challenges in measuring these interactions. Here, we present MetaFlowTrain, an easy-to-assemble, cheap, semi-high-throughput, and modular fluidic system in which multiple media can be flushed at adjustable flow rates into gnotobiotic microchambers accommodating diverse micro-organisms, ranging from bacteria to small eukaryotes. These microchambers can be used alone or connected in series to create microchamber trains within which metabolites, but not organisms, directionally travel between microchambers to modulate organismal growth. Using MetaFlowTrain, we uncover soil conditioning effects on synthetic community structure and plant growth, and reveal microbial antagonism mediated by exometabolite production. Our study highlights MetaFlowTrain as a versatile system for investigating plant-microbe-microbe metabolic interactions. We also discuss the system´s potential to discover metabolites that function as signaling molecules, drugs, or antimicrobials across various systems.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58530-x |
| spellingShingle | Guillaume Chesneau Johannes Herpell Sarah Marie Wolf Silvina Perin Stéphane Hacquard MetaFlowTrain: a highly parallelized and modular fluidic system for studying exometabolite-mediated inter-organismal interactions Nature Communications |
| title | MetaFlowTrain: a highly parallelized and modular fluidic system for studying exometabolite-mediated inter-organismal interactions |
| title_full | MetaFlowTrain: a highly parallelized and modular fluidic system for studying exometabolite-mediated inter-organismal interactions |
| title_fullStr | MetaFlowTrain: a highly parallelized and modular fluidic system for studying exometabolite-mediated inter-organismal interactions |
| title_full_unstemmed | MetaFlowTrain: a highly parallelized and modular fluidic system for studying exometabolite-mediated inter-organismal interactions |
| title_short | MetaFlowTrain: a highly parallelized and modular fluidic system for studying exometabolite-mediated inter-organismal interactions |
| title_sort | metaflowtrain a highly parallelized and modular fluidic system for studying exometabolite mediated inter organismal interactions |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58530-x |
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