(CNN) A common item in your kitchen is better for bacteria than a petri dish in the laboratory, according to new research.
Common sponge spatially partitions. The way it is divided into different sizes and sectors caters to bacteria that prefer to be in isolated environments and those who prefer to be around other organisms. This makes it the best of both the worlds for microbial communities.According to a recent study published in Nature Chemical Biology.Bacteria that thrive in small spaces, like the pores on a sponge, won’t bully others organisms for space. While sponges have larger wells that allow microbes to survive, the sponges have smaller wells.
It’s like going to parties. There are people who really enjoy large room interactions with lots of people. This will bring energy, said Lingchong You (professor of biomedical engineering at Duke University, North Carolina). There are also people who prefer to be in a smaller setting.
The results may help you understand why your sponge is a habitat for germs. However, the goal of this research is to create diverse microbial communities that can produce medicinal or biotechnologically valuable chemicals.
Home sweet home
Researchers used two methods to test E.coli density and presence to arrive at these conclusions. They used plates with varied spatial partitioning levels, from six to 1,536 isolated water wells. The plates revealed that bacteria thrives in areas with high levels of division.
Researchers then conducted another experiment using a kitchen sponge as well as a tube. The results showed that a sponge has 60% more diversity than a well-mixed environment. This is due to the fact that bacteria in tubes are compacted.
You mentioned that spatial partitioning plays an important role in maintaining diversity within microbial communities. You also mentioned that the optimal amount of partitioning could depend on the nature of interactions within a particular community of bacteria.
They concluded that environments with a mixture of small wells and large chambers are the best for diverse microbial communities.
Sponges provide a perfect environment for microbes to grow, so it is recommended that sponge owners replace their sponges every other week or disinfect them. According to a recommendation, sponges should be replaced on a weekly schedule.Scientific Reports published a 2017 study. To sterilize bacteria on sponges use theUnited States Department of Agriculture suggestsConsumers use microwave heating and dishwashing with an air drying cycle.
These results allow us to understand the microbial perspective where distances are vastly different from what we see as humans. Epstein stated that researchers can better understand the impact of scale on microbial interactions by studying the distance between cells. This distance is measured in microns.
Nature’s microbiological communities
Epstein said that the natural extension of this research would have been to examine the role spatial partitioning in nature such as how bacteria works in soil. Since the bacteria used in this study were artificially grown and controlled, Epstein agreed.
Epstein said that working with well plates clearly shows a significant role for the size of the compartments they can grow in and whether or not there is separation between these compartments. Once you know this, you have the ammunition and drive necessary to pursue natural communities.
Although the study can’t prove spatial partitioning has an effect on microbial communities in natural environments, You stated that he believes the results will be consistent. Although researchers are interested in trying out natural microbial communities, You stated that the bacteria must first learn how to live together.
You stated that one member will be responsible for controlling one step of the pathway and another member will be responsible for the other. They will have to co-exist for this to work. We need to preserve their diversity. This partitioned environment was created to help different members.
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