For most of modern history, microbes were cast as evil agents of disease. However, with the hype of probiotics, they had a chance to recover from their bad reputation. For the first time, people were learning that we carry friendly microbial communities (i.e. microbiomes) in our gut and skin. We began to understand that these tiny organisms help digest our food, train our immune systems, and may even influence our mood through neurotransmitter production in the gut.

This is only the beginning of the story. Additional knowledge about how cool microbes in nature are is slowly spreading, like the fact that microbes in the roots of plants help them to uptake nutrients, or that fungi weave underground chemical communication networks for trees.

What most people still don’t know, however, is that in nature, many microbes interact with each other in ways that benefit both of them, much as cooperation between neighbors. This is known as symbiosis. These relationships have been honed by millions of years of evolution, such that some microbes have specialized in partnering together and helping each other in ways that no other microbe can.

Fun symbiosis examples

• Perhaps the most astonishing example of all is the cells of plants and animals, including our own. Mitochondria, the cell’s energy factories, were once free-living bacteria that were engulfed by another cell. This symbiosis was so successful that it became permanent, and it enabled the evolution of complex life.

• Similarly, plant and algae chloroplasts, which enable photosynthesis, are products of a similar process of so-called endosymbiosis, in which an originally photosynthetic bacterium was taken by a larger cell.

• In the darkness of deep-sea vents, microbial symbioses turn hydrogen and methane into fuel, powering entire ecosystems far from the reach of sunlight

The Cool New Science

• Diao et al. (2025) engineered a microbial mixture of two bacteria, each modified to degrade distinct components of mixed plastic waste to produce pigments and other products, demonstrating the potential of microbial symbiosis to advance the circular economy.

• Liu et al. (2005) designed 30 microbial communities based on natural microorganisms that were found in plant roots. They found that less genetically related communities have greater effects on plant growth. This suggests that microbes with higher genetic variability are more likely to have complementary functions, which enhances cooperation among themselves and with other organisms.

Companies to Look Up to

Many of the companies harnessing microbial symbiosis are using engineered microbes for diverse applications, including:

• Agriculture: Beneficial microbes help crops better access nutrients, resist stress, and store carbon in soil. from enhancing crop yields. These include Kula Bio, Agricen, Adaptive Symbiotic Technologies, AgBiome, Pivot Bio, BioConsortia, Inc., Azotic Technologies, Lallemand, Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc., Koppert, and Indigo

• Health: Companies are aiming to restore a balance in human and animal microbial communities to support immunity and treat disease. Some examples are MaaT Pharma , Enterome, Infant Bacterial Therapeutics AB , Synlogic, and Ostia Sciences Inc.

• Industry: Engineered microbes enable the production of sustainable materials and the degradation of pollutants. Some of the main players are Ginkgo Bioworks, SymBiontics Developments, Solugen, Conagen, and Aurea Biolabs.

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🌍 The Key Takeaway

Microbes are not just germs or probiotics. They have established collaborations with other organisms that we can use for our benefit.

The next frontier of biotechnology won’t be about engineering a single “super microbe”, but about using existing relationships for inspiration and designing new ones.

Until next time,

Daniela Osorio, Ph.D.

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