From "synthetic" to defined microbial communities for clearer terminology.

Koch, Hanna; Clavel, Thomas; Mayr, Cintia; Coltman, Benjamin L; Schloter, Michael; Vorholt, Julia A; Sanz, Yolanda; Cernava, Tomislav et al. · Nat Commun · 2026

Where this comes from

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.