Building Synthetic Microbial Communities forBiology, Mitigating Climate Change, Sustainability andBiotechnology (Synthetic Communities)

This solicitation seeks projects that focus on synthetic microbial communities. The projects may use a model synthetic community to better understand the fundamental biological principles underlying the formation, maintenance or functionality of natural communities and to understand a natural community's impact on the host, when applicable.Projects that focus on the design and analysis of synthetic communities with novel capabilities are also eligible for submission. These projects may address fundamental biological principles at any scale, from the molecular to the ecosystem scale. By supporting this research, this solicitation aims to build a comprehensive biological knowledge base that scientists can use to rationally design synthetic microbial communities with novel applications in climate resiliency,sustainability, biotechnology and bio-manufacturing.