From “synthetic” to defined microbial communities for clearer terminology

Hanna Koch; Thomas Clavel; Cintia Mayr; Benjamin L. Coltman; Michael Schloter; Julia A. Vorholt; Yolanda Sanz; Tomislav Cernava; Gwyn A. Beattie; Lene Lange; Stéphane Chaillou; Ákos T. Kovács; Hauke Smidt; Corné M.J. Pieterse; Tanja Kostic; Omri M. Finkel; Christopher E. Lawson; Luca Cocolin; Jesús Mercado-Blanco; Robert D. Finn; Kalliope K. Papadopoulou; Matthew Ryan; Marco Candela; Paul D. Cotter; Gabriele Berg; Orla O’Sullivan; Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo; Pankaj Trivedi; Trevor C. Charles; Brajesh K. Singh; Günter Brader; Malek Marian; Angela Sessitsch

doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74251-1

From “synthetic” to defined microbial communities for clearer terminology

Hanna Koch
, Thomas Clavel
, Cintia Mayr
, Benjamin L. Coltman
, Michael Schloter
, Julia A. Vorholt
, Yolanda Sanz
, Tomislav Cernava
, Gwyn A. Beattie
, Lene Lange
, Stéphane Chaillou
, Ákos T. Kovács
, Hauke Smidt
, Corné M.J. Pieterse
, Tanja Kostic
, Omri M. Finkel
, Christopher E. Lawson
, Luca Cocolin
, Jesús Mercado-Blanco
, Robert D. Finn

Kalliope K. Papadopoulou, Matthew Ryan, Marco Candela, Paul D. Cotter, Gabriele Berg, Orla O’Sullivan, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, Pankaj Trivedi, Trevor C. Charles, Brajesh K. Singh, Günter Brader, Malek Marian, Angela Sessitsch

Austrian Institute of Technology
University of Vienna
RWTH Aachen University
Helmholtz AI
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich
CSIC - Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology
University of Southampton
Iowa State University
BioEconomy
King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi
Université Paris-Saclay
Leiden University
Wageningen University & Research
Utrecht University
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
University of Toronto
University of Turin
CSIC - Experimental Station of Zaidín
Wellcome Trust
University of Thessaly
Cabi Bioscience
University of Bologna
Teagasc - Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority
University College Cork
VistaMilk
Graz University of Technology
Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy
CSIC - Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology of Seville
Texas Tech University
University of Waterloo
University of Western Australia

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Consortia of microbial isolates, also known as synthetic communities (SynComs), are increasingly used to study and harness microbe-microbe and microbe-host interactions. Since “synthetic” potentially evokes negative connotations, we propose adopting the term “Defined Microbial Community” for practical applications.

Original language	English
Article number	5283
Number of pages	4
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	17
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-74251-1
Publication status	Published - 8 Jun 2026
Externally published	Yes

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Full textFinal published version, 922 KBLicence: CC BY

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Koch, H., Clavel, T., Mayr, C., Coltman, B. L., Schloter, M., Vorholt, J. A., Sanz, Y., Cernava, T., Beattie, G. A., Lange, L., Chaillou, S., Kovács, Á. T., Smidt, H., Pieterse, C. M. J., Kostic, T., Finkel, O. M., Lawson, C. E., Cocolin, L., Mercado-Blanco, J., ... Sessitsch, A. (2026). From “synthetic” to defined microbial communities for clearer terminology. Nature Communications, 17(1), Article 5283. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-74251-1

@article{601e8c67c57b43eaa14008ac80d06fac,

title = "From {\textquotedblleft}synthetic{\textquotedblright} to defined microbial communities for clearer terminology",

abstract = "Consortia of microbial isolates, also known as synthetic communities (SynComs), are increasingly used to study and harness microbe-microbe and microbe-host interactions. Since {\textquotedblleft}synthetic{\textquotedblright} potentially evokes negative connotations, we propose adopting the term {\textquotedblleft}Defined Microbial Community{\textquotedblright} for practical applications.",

author = "Hanna Koch and Thomas Clavel and Cintia Mayr and Coltman, \{Benjamin L.\} and Michael Schloter and Vorholt, \{Julia A.\} and Yolanda Sanz and Tomislav Cernava and Beattie, \{Gwyn A.\} and Lene Lange and St{\'e}phane Chaillou and Kov{\'a}cs, \{{\'A}kos T.\} and Hauke Smidt and Pieterse, \{Corn{\'e} M.J.\} and Tanja Kostic and Finkel, \{Omri M.\} and Lawson, \{Christopher E.\} and Luca Cocolin and Jes{\'u}s Mercado-Blanco and Finn, \{Robert D.\} and Papadopoulou, \{Kalliope K.\} and Matthew Ryan and Marco Candela and Cotter, \{Paul D.\} and Gabriele Berg and Orla O{\textquoteright}Sullivan and Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo and Pankaj Trivedi and Charles, \{Trevor C.\} and Singh, \{Brajesh K.\} and G{\"u}nter Brader and Malek Marian and Angela Sessitsch",

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doi = "10.1038/s41467-026-74251-1",

language = "English",

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journal = "Nature Communications",

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Koch, H, Clavel, T, Mayr, C, Coltman, BL, Schloter, M, Vorholt, JA, Sanz, Y, Cernava, T, Beattie, GA, Lange, L, Chaillou, S, Kovács, ÁT, Smidt, H, Pieterse, CMJ, Kostic, T, Finkel, OM, Lawson, CE, Cocolin, L, Mercado-Blanco, J, Finn, RD, Papadopoulou, KK, Ryan, M, Candela, M, Cotter, PD, Berg, G, O’Sullivan, O, Delgado-Baquerizo, M, Trivedi, P, Charles, TC, Singh, BK, Brader, G, Marian, M & Sessitsch, A 2026, 'From “synthetic” to defined microbial communities for clearer terminology', Nature Communications, vol. 17, no. 1, 5283. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-74251-1

TY - JOUR

T1 - From “synthetic” to defined microbial communities for clearer terminology

AU - Koch, Hanna

AU - Clavel, Thomas

AU - Mayr, Cintia

AU - Coltman, Benjamin L.

AU - Schloter, Michael

AU - Vorholt, Julia A.

AU - Sanz, Yolanda

AU - Cernava, Tomislav

AU - Beattie, Gwyn A.

AU - Lange, Lene

AU - Chaillou, Stéphane

AU - Kovács, Ákos T.

AU - Smidt, Hauke

AU - Pieterse, Corné M.J.

AU - Kostic, Tanja

AU - Finkel, Omri M.

AU - Lawson, Christopher E.

AU - Cocolin, Luca

AU - Mercado-Blanco, Jesús

AU - Finn, Robert D.

AU - Papadopoulou, Kalliope K.

AU - Ryan, Matthew

AU - Candela, Marco

AU - Cotter, Paul D.

AU - Berg, Gabriele

AU - O’Sullivan, Orla

AU - Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel

AU - Trivedi, Pankaj

AU - Charles, Trevor C.

AU - Singh, Brajesh K.

AU - Brader, Günter

AU - Marian, Malek

AU - Sessitsch, Angela

PY - 2026/6/8

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AB - Consortia of microbial isolates, also known as synthetic communities (SynComs), are increasingly used to study and harness microbe-microbe and microbe-host interactions. Since “synthetic” potentially evokes negative connotations, we propose adopting the term “Defined Microbial Community” for practical applications.

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From “synthetic” to defined microbial communities for clearer terminology

Abstract

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