To thwart pathogens, researchers are giving beneficial microbes what they really want

University of California San Diego researchers have developed a new tool for understanding and modifying any microbiome, including the human microbiome. The approach, called Microbial Interaction and Niche Determination (MIND), accurately predicts how microbes compete within complex communities and identifies their specific nutrient preferences. The findings, published on April 17 in Cell, have the potential to accelerate the translation of microbiome science from the lab to the clinic, paving the way for highly targeted microbiome therapies, for example, as an alternative to traditional antibiotics.