Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have found that microbes living in communities actively adjust their behavior in response to one another, reducing competition and enabling coexistence, according to a study published in Nature Microbiology. 

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The research, led by Dr. Sarah Moraïs under the supervision of Prof. Itzhak Mizrahi, examined how microorganisms behave when grouped together rather than in isolation.

The findings indicate that microbes respond not only to environmental conditions, such as food sources, but also to the presence and identity of neighboring microbes, sometimes exerting a stronger effect on protein production than nutrients themselves do. 

The study addresses a longstanding question in ecology regarding how multiple microbial species coexist despite expectations that they would compete for the same resources. The researchers found that microbes can detect one another and shift their functional roles, reducing overlap and limiting direct competition. This process allows diverse communities to persist and function more efficiently.

To reach these conclusions, Moraïs and Mizrahi constructed controlled microbial communities using gut-associated bacteria. Instead of focusing solely on which species were present, they analyzed protein production to determine the roles each microbe performed. 

“A microbe is not defined only by its genome, which represents its potential, but also by its community. The same bacterium can behave very differently depending on who surrounds it,” Moraïs said.

The findings suggest that microbial communities function as dynamic systems in which organisms coordinate activities, dividing tasks rather than competing directly. Researchers said this could help explain how complex microbiomes develop and remain stable.

The study points to potential applications in multiple fields. Prof. Mizrahi said that in human health, designing probiotics may depend on selecting combinations of microbes that naturally divide functions.

In agriculture, understanding microbial organization could improve feed efficiency and reduce emissions, while in biotechnology, it could support the development of multi-microbe systems rather than single engineered organisms.

Additional contributors to the research included scientists from Ben-Gurion University and the University of Greifswald. The study was supported by the European Research Council, the Israel Science Foundation, and the Swiss National Science Foundation.