Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42215485›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Metabolic feedbacks drive population dynamics and can lead to oscillations among leaf bacteria.

Alan R Pacheco, Giovanni Stefano Ugolini, Simon H Rüdisser, Andrea Zamuner, Miriam Bortfeld-Miller, Patrick Kiefer, Franziska Oschmann, Samuel G V Charlton, Michael Berger, Tommaso Redaelli and 7 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors.

Alan R Pacheco *Institute of Microbiology, Department of Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. apacheco@ethz.ch.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1128-3232
Giovanni Stefano Ugolini *Institute of Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Simon H RüdisserBiomolecular NMR Spectroscopy Platform, Department of Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1107-6196
Andrea ZamunerInstitute of Microbiology, Department of Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Miriam Bortfeld-MillerInstitute of Microbiology, Department of Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Patrick KieferInstitute of Microbiology, Department of Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Franziska OschmannScientific IT Services, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Samuel G V CharltonInstitute of Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Michael BergerInstitute of Microbiology, Department of Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Tommaso RedaelliInstitute of Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6552-8493
Miguel Ángel SalazarInstitute of Microbiology, Department of Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0005-5090-3448
Ilija DukovskiBioinformatics Program, Faculty of Computing and Data Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
Jan Roelof van der MeerDepartment of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1485-3082
Olga T SchubertDepartment of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2613-0714
Martin AckermannDepartment of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Roman StockerInstitute of Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Julia A VorholtInstitute of Microbiology, Department of Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. jvorholt@ethz.ch.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6011-4910

Funding

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (Gordon E. and Betty I. Moore Foundation) GBMF9197James S. McDonnell Foundation (McDonnell Foundation) 2020-1332Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (Swiss National Science Foundation) 310030B_201265Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (Swiss National Science Foundation) 51NF40_180575Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (Swiss National Science Foundation) 51NF40_225148Simons Foundation 542379FY22Simons Foundation 542395FY22
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Metabolic interactions are fundamental to the assembly and function of microbiomes. Yet, our understanding of how specific interaction mechanisms can drive broader ecological outcomes and population dynamics remains limited. Here, we monitor interactions resulting from plant oligosaccharide degradation by leaf-associated bacteria using a microfluidic device that enables direct cell observation and quantitative metabolite detection. This approach enables the identification of key metabolic mediators, revealing recipient-specific patterns of carbon substrate and cofactor complementation. By linking these patterns to emergent dynamics observed between pairs of bacteria, we identify metabolically driven feedbacks that could lead to a variety of ecological outcomes - from outcompetition to coexistence characterized by oscillating population abundances. Investigating these observations with metabolic modeling allows us to systematically assess the impact of specific molecular mediators on population dynamics, yielding predictions of interaction outcomes that we validate experimentally. Our results provide a detailed mapping of metabolic mechanisms to emergent population trajectories among environmental microbes and help inform strategies for designing microbiomes with desired steady states.

Indexed as

BacteriaFeedback, PhysiologicalMicrobiotaPlant LeavesCarbonModels, BiologicalOligosaccharidesPopulation DynamicsCarbonOligosaccharides

Identifiers

PMID42215485
PMCPMC13392072

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.