There are an increasing number of Metabolic Engineering studies that utilize >1 species of microbes within a cultivation, often referred to as Synthetic Microbial Communities or SynComs. Several interesting results have been observed, particularly in the context of sharing biosynthetic burden among microbial consortia members. Much of the work in this area has been inspired by the remarkable functionality of natural microbiomes. However, present studies come short of utilizing analogous genetic complexity and diversity. Moreover, SynCom stability remains a key challenge. Here, I propose that to maximize SynCom functionality for Metabolic Engineering, we need to focus first on microbial community stability. In addition, we need to pair studies of high-order, complex, and stable existing communities with reductionistic/synthetic biology approaches that enable the identification of interaction mechanisms. I will walk through our work examining a microbial community from a contaminated soil context, the understanding we gained, and how we plan to extend this analysis pipeline to Metabolic Engineering-relevant contexts. Finally, I’ll briefly discuss what I see as future opportunities for Metabolic Engineering SynComs.
