Microbes are everywhere!

We mostly associate microbes with disease. Indeed, some viruses, bacteria or fungi can cause diverse and severe diseases. But the vast majority of microbes around us are essential for life: The bacteria that live in our intestines help to digest food and produce vitamins. Inoffensive bacteria are key for the development of our immune defense, and they protect against pathogens.

Zentrum | UZH Lichthof

Microbes also help plants absorb nutrients from the soil that are essential for their growth. In our sewage treatment plants, microbes clean wastewater before it is discharged into lakes and rivers. In our factories, they produce medicines and chemicals. Microbes turn milk into yogurt or cheese, flour into bread, and grape juice into wine…

Most microbes do not work alone: they form large communities where many different species interact and depend on each other. Life on Earth would be impossible without these microbial communities.

The NCCR Microbiomes brings together researchers from ETH Zurich, University of Zurich, and four other Swiss research institutions. We study microbial communities to understand how they are formed, how they function and how they evolve. We want to use this knowledge to help rebuilding some of their many functions in case microbiomes are disturbed, by antibiotics or pollution, or by mismanagement. In the future, we aim to produce tailor-made communities with specific capabilities to sustain a bio-based economy.

The bacterium Citrobacter rodentium (seen in green) infecting the colon of a mouse (blue: DNA of the colon cells; grey: actin structures of the colon cells) (ref: Buschor et al. 2017, doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006476). Courtesy of Siegfried Hapfelmeier (University of Bern).
The bacterium Citrobacter rodentium (seen in green) infecting the colon of a mouse (blue: DNA of the colon cells; grey: actin structures of the colon cells) (ref: Buschor et al. 2017, doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1006476). Courtesy of Siegfried Hapfelmeier (University of Bern).
Mouse intestine tissues (seen in blue) colonised by pathogenic Salmonella Typhimurium bacteria (red). The gut microbiota is seen in green (ref: Stecher et al. 2007, doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0050244). Courtesy of Wolf-Dietrich Hardt (ETH Zurich).
Mouse intestine tissues (seen in blue) colonised by pathogenic Salmonella Typhimurium bacteria (red). The gut microbiota is seen in green (ref: Stecher et al. 2007, doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0050244). Courtesy of Wolf-Dietrich Hardt (ETH Zurich).
A bacterial colony growing overtime. The population is composed of two strains, blue and yellow, that can only grow when they are cultured together as they need to exchange amino acids for their survival. Their co-dependency and dynamics of growth lead to a microscopic pattern formation. Courtesy of Estelle Pignon and Yolanda Schaerli (University of Lausanne).
A bacterial colony growing overtime. The population is composed of two strains, blue and yellow, that can only grow when they are cultured together as they need to exchange amino acids for their survival. Their co-dependency and dynamics of growth lead to a microscopic pattern formation. Courtesy of Estelle Pignon and Yolanda Schaerli (University of Lausanne).