Unlocking Microbiome Function Through Design
Trillions of microbes live in our gut, shaping everything from digestion and metabolism to immunity. Carolina Tropini’s project asks: what are the rules that govern this hidden ecosystem, and how can we use it to monitor and improve our health?
This project aims to better understand the rules that govern gut microbial communities and to develop new approaches for studying and interacting with them. By combining insights from biology, engineering, and ecology, Carolina and her team will explore how gut microbes communicate, adapt to changing conditions, and contribute to health. They will also investigate how naturally occurring gut bacteria can be used as living sensors to help reveal what is happening inside the gut in real time.
Bringing together researchers from diverse disciplines, the project will develop a shared vision for the future of microbiome research. Through collaborative workshops and scholarly exchange, the team aims to identify key challenges, opportunities, and responsible approaches for harnessing the potential of beneficial gut microbes. Ultimately, this work will help lay the foundations for new strategies to monitor, understand, and improve human health through the microbiome.
1The fluorescent micrograph shows engineered biosensor Bacteroides strains residing within the complex architecture of the mouse colon. The epithelium and colonic crypts provide a striking spatial context for bacterial colonization and function. In this study, we developed a modular genetic toolkit that enables robust, fluorescence-based transcriptional reporting in B. thetaiotaomicron. Using this system, we built osmolality biosensors capable of detecting changes associated with malabsorption. This visualization illustrates the single-cell response of these biosensors to complex spatial environments, and underscores the potential of commensal bacteria as in situ reporters of dynamic physiological changes within the gut.