Throughout the food chain microorganisms play key roles in activities as far apart as flavor formation, production of (bioactive) ingredients, preservation, digestion, spoilage and pathogenic contamination. In most situations the microorganisms are present in mixtures that actively cooperate in consortia of two up to many hundreds different strains. These consortia behave as multi-cellular organisms with a significant degree of specialization. In the past most research in (applied) microbiology has focused at single strains or defined sub-sets of consortia. Although these studies give a reasonably good account of the metabolic possibilities, the versatility and intrinsic resilience of metabolic networks divided over several strains can only be unraveled in a real consortium. Consortia are very stable in a specific environment and at the same time they are highly flexible and capable of rapidly adopting to environmental changes.
As a result of the rapid development of modern molecular techniques, high throughput screening tools and high resolution imaging, the complexity of consortia can now be studied and translated into mathematical models that help to visualize and eventually understand and predict their behavior.
Aim of the Food Summit is to develop a shared vision on scientific developments and technologies that lead to breakthrough developments in steering microbial networks.