Biomaterial Database

Microfluidic and mathematical modeling of aquatic microbial communities. 2021

Fangchen Liu, and Andrea Giometto, and Mingming Wu

Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.

Aquatic microbial communities contribute fundamentally to biogeochemical transformations in natural ecosystems, and disruption of these communities can lead to ecological disasters such as harmful algal blooms. Microbial communities are highly dynamic, and their composition and function are tightly controlled by the biophysical (e.g., light, fluid flow, and temperature) and biochemical (e.g., chemical gradients and cell concentration) parameters of the surrounding environment. Due to the large number of environmental factors involved, a systematic understanding of the microbial community-environment interactions is lacking. In this article, we show that microfluidic platforms present a unique opportunity to recreate well-defined environmental factors in a laboratory setting in a high throughput way, enabling quantitative studies of microbial communities that are amenable to theoretical modeling. The focus of this article is on aquatic microbial communities, but the microfluidic and mathematical models discussed here can be readily applied to investigate other microbiomes.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008954	Models, Biological	Theoretical representations that simulate the behavior or activity of biological processes or diseases. For disease models in living animals, DISEASE MODELS, ANIMAL is available. Biological models include the use of mathematical equations, computers, and other electronic equipment.	Biological Model,Biological Models,Model, Biological,Models, Biologic,Biologic Model,Biologic Models,Model, Biologic
D010839	Phytoplankton	Free-floating minute organisms that are photosynthetic. The term is non-taxonomic and refers to a lifestyle (energy utilization and motility), rather than a particular type of organism. Most, but not all, are unicellular algae. Important groups include DIATOMS; DINOFLAGELLATES; CYANOBACTERIA; CHLOROPHYTA; HAPTOPHYTA; CRYPTOMONADS; and silicoflagellates.
D004867	Equipment Design	Methods and patterns of fabricating machines and related hardware.	Design, Equipment,Device Design,Medical Device Design,Design, Medical Device,Designs, Medical Device,Device Design, Medical,Device Designs, Medical,Medical Device Designs,Design, Device,Designs, Device,Designs, Equipment,Device Designs,Equipment Designs
D017753	Ecosystem	A functional system which includes the organisms of a natural community together with their environment. (McGraw Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)	Ecosystems,Biome,Ecologic System,Ecologic Systems,Ecological System,Habitat,Niche, Ecological,System, Ecological,Systems, Ecological,Biomes,Ecological Niche,Ecological Systems,Habitats,System, Ecologic,Systems, Ecologic
D046210	Microfluidic Analytical Techniques	Methods utilizing the principles of MICROFLUIDICS for sample handling, reagent mixing, and separation and detection of specific components in fluids.	Microfluidic Analysis,Analyses, Microfluidic,Analysis, Microfluidic,Analytical Technique, Microfluidic,Analytical Techniques, Microfluidic,Microfluidic Analyses,Microfluidic Analytical Technique,Technique, Microfluidic Analytical,Techniques, Microfluidic Analytical
D057097	Harmful Algal Bloom	An algal bloom where the algae produce powerful toxins that can kill fish, birds, and mammals, and ultimately cause illness in humans. The harmful bloom can also cause oxygen depletion in the water due to the death and decomposition of non-toxic algae species.	Red Tide,Algal Bloom, Harmful,Algal Blooms, Harmful,Bloom, Harmful Algal,Blooms, Harmful Algal,Harmful Algal Blooms,Red Tides,Tide, Red,Tides, Red
D064307	Microbiota	The full collection of microbes (bacteria, fungi, virus, etc.) that naturally exist within a particular biological niche such as an organism, soil, a body of water, etc.	Human Microbiome,Microbiome,Microbiome, Human,Microbial Community,Microbial Community Composition,Microbial Community Structure,Community Composition, Microbial,Community Structure, Microbial,Community, Microbial,Composition, Microbial Community,Human Microbiomes,Microbial Communities,Microbial Community Compositions,Microbial Community Structures,Microbiomes,Microbiotas