A hybrid analytical-experimental study of the stability and resistance of coupled microbiota

Our health is tightly linked to our microbiota—microbes that live in/on our body. Our microbiota regulates our immune response and offers protection against disease-causing pathogens. A disruptive change in microbiota, possibly caused by the use of antibiotics, can lead to diseases such as gut inflammation or infections. Given that we exchange microbes with the environment or other individuals around us, we ask how this exchange impacts our microbiota’s capability to maintain a healthy state and fend off pathogens. In an interdisciplinary collaboration, we combine the analysis of dynamical systems (Dr. Renato Mirollo, Math) with experiments based on nasal microbiota (Dr. Babak Momeni, Biology) to investigate coupled microbiota (Co-µB) that are formed by exchange between two microbiota. Our working hypothesis is that Co-µBs are more robust at intermediate rates of exchange, compared to the original uncoupled microbiota. To test this, we mathematically represent microbiota as dynamical systems and explore conditions under which Co-µB exhibit improved robustness. We will then use in-vitro nasal microbiota to experimentally validate our findings. Collectively, our research will generate new insights into how important properties of microbiota are impacted when individuals are in extended contact and their microbiota are coupled. This has valuable implications in our efforts to maintain healthy microbiota.