The 18th national congress for the French Microbiology Society (SFM) was held in Rennes the 4-6th October. Stéphane was welcome as a guest and gave an introduction conference in the session dedicated to “microbes and functional foods”. He delivered a 25 min talk untitled ”Design of microbial solutions for sustainable and healthy fermented food: perspectives & challenges”.
Bringing synthetic Ecology in the field of food microbiology
Ferment'IA: Bridging the World of Fermented Foods with Artificial Intelligence
On the 13th of September, CentraleSupélec hosted the inaugural Ferment’IA colloquium. This event, organized in collaboration with Ferments du Futur and l’Institut DATAIA, catered to researchers focusing on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Science, particularly in the context of fermented foods.
A Glimpse into LAB14: Insights on the Future of Lactic Acid Bacteria science
The 14th Symposium of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB14) in Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands, was a landmark event in the world of microbial ecology. Renowned experts from across the globe congregated to discuss the latest advancements in the field.
Third scientific meeting of ANR metasimfood project in Palaiseau
The meeting was organised by sayfood partner in the brand new AgroParisTech building in Palaiseau. These two days were focussed on the milestone around the construction of the food models and construction of artificial microbial communities. We are glad that this important milestone is validated. The project will now enter a more ambitious phase, implementing synthetic ecology strategies to model microbial interactions in the project’s two models (wine and fermented vegetables). The meeting was punctuated by a very pleasant dinner at the living-room in Palaiseau.
Exploring the Interconnected World of Microbiomes
In our contribution to the last Microbiome Support CSA review, coordinated by A. sessitch and T. Kostic1, we reveal the critical roles of microbiomes in maintaining ecosystem health and their extensive interconnectivity across different environments. These diverse microbial communities are exchanged constantly, affecting everything from climate regulation to human health.
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Sessitsch A, Wakelin S, Schloter M, et al. Microbiome Interconnectedness throughout Environments with Major Consequences for Healthy People and a Healthy Planet. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev. 2023;e0021222. doi:10.1128/mmbr.00212-22 ↩
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From “synthetic” to defined microbial communities for clearer terminology
Stéphane Chaillou participated in a joint reflection with a group of international researchers, coordinated by the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT), on the terminology used to describe certain microbial communities. The collective of experts proposes replacing the term “synthetic community” (or SynCom), sometimes perceived negatively, with “Defined Microbial Community”.
Harnessing gut microbiome diversity for next-generation fermented foods
On June 5, 2026, Julien Tap participated in the INRAE-Tokyo NODAI Joint Symposium on Fermentation and Food Bioscience. This online event brought together researchers from INRAE and the Tokyo University of Agriculture to discuss fermentation microbiology, food bioscience, taste, and microbiome-based approaches to health. More than 100 participants attended the symposium, most of them Japanese students, highlighting the strong interest of the next generation in fermentation and microbiome science.
DOMINO 3rd annual meeting in Madrid
After three years, the #DominoEU project has reached full speed, with significant results across all project objectives. The three-day meeting provided an opportunity to review the very busy year of 2025 and the many key findings that can be leveraged in the coming months.