ArticleNPJ systems biology and applications2026
Metabolic set theory: a generalized model of microbial interactions.
Article in NPJ systems biology and applications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Understanding the composition of microbial communities in their environment remains a challenge due to the complex interplay of factors like inter-species interactions and nutrient availability. In this context, it has become an established approach to use overlap in functional subsets of metabolic networks as indices of synergy and competition among microorganisms. Here, we show that this idea can actually be reduced to a much simpler principle. Leveraging the agent-based community modeling software BacArena and natural co-occurrence patterns in the human gut microbiome for a systematic comparison, we find that simple set-theoretical indices explain interactions to a similarly high degree as more sophisticated, established approaches based on network topology. Furthermore, we observe that the performance of most indices decreases substantially for patients diagnosed with obesity or inflammatory bowel disease, suggesting a systemic decline in the microbiome.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.