Evolution of spatially structured microbial populations in variable environments

Most microbial populations in the wild, from biofilms to the microbiome, exhibit characteristic spatial structure where individuals replicate, die and interact depending on their location and their neighbours.

Studying spatially structured populations in well-controlled lab conditions is, however, challenging, as no appropriate experimental assays exist to track populations for a long time and vary their conditions without disturbing their structure.

The goal of the project is to develop an experimental setup that addresses these challenges and apply it to study the evolution of biofilms and phage-bacteria ecosystems both in constant and variable environments.