Pore-scale mass transfer heterogeneity shapes nutrient accessibility and functional assembly in porous microbial ecosystems.

ABSTRACT: Porous ecosystems represent ubiquitous microbial habitats across natural settings including soil, gut tract, and food matrices, where microscale spatial architecture critically shapes microbial colonization and interactions. Yet, the mechanisms of how pore-scale physical constraints influence microbial community assembly and metabolic performance remain poorly understood. Here, we employed a microfluidic platform with tunable inter-pillar spacings, coupled with a multi-omics approach including in situ imaging, exometabolomics, metagenomics, and metatranscriptomics, to investigate how pore-size modulates microbial community dynamics. Comparing representative small (50 μm) and large (150 μm) pore-sizes, we found that larger pore-sizes promoted greater biomass accumulation and significantly e

SUBMITTER: Wu L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12499919 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature