Announcement approval Phase II of the NCCR Microbiomes

During Phase I, the NCCR has successfully set up its main lines of collaborative research through six work packages. The consortium has developed and tested new approaches for producing and applying standardized microbiomes across hosts and environments. Standardized microbiomes serve as excellent test beds for conceptual questions on microbiome assembly and functioning. Some of the initially performed microbiome interventions consisted in adding or removing single functionalities or focal strains. This N+1/N–1 approach (From microbiome composition to functional engineering, one step at a time, Burz et al., 2023), lays a conceptual and engineering foundation for activities planned in Phase II.

Over the next four years, the NCCR Microbiomes will continue to focus on the dynamics of microbiome assembly and identify strategies to differentiate disturbed (or dysbiosed) from healthy microbiomes. To this end, several flagship projects will be launched with common project designs and research questions across groups and work packages. In addition to experimental work, the consortium will develop models and test predicted behaviours of complex microbiomes in the presence or absence of their host.

The flagship research is expected to lead to major advances in mechanistic and molecular knowledge of microbiome assembly rules, enabling complex microbiome intervention goals. These may involve multiple strains, the building and engrafting of functional guilds, or the reconstruction of synthetic microbiomes with functional characteristics of known strains.

Parallel to these research axes, Phase II projects will continue to advance microbiome diagnostics methods and interventional research, focusing on human and animal health, environmental carbon and nutrient cycles, as well as soil health and plant growth. To support the applied focus, the NCCR will establish partnerships with relevant institutions and industries to ensure developments that can be widely adopted.

The consortium members are excited to begin this new phase and look forward to many new discoveries. They further express their gratitude to the SNSF for their support and the trust of all assigned evaluators.
 

Further reading on recent research from the NCCR Microbiomes:

• Pascale Vonaesch, chercheuse tout-terrain (Rencontre avec P. Vonaesch)
• Traitement de choc contre une bactérie «multirécidiviste» (Rencontre avec T. Galpérine)
• Une bactérie reprogrammée pour étudier le microbiote des abeilles (Publication par Y. Schaerli et P. Engel dans PLOS Biology)