Bacteria: friends or enemies?

There is no doubt that bacteria have a bad reputation because a few species are pathogens that can cause serious problems for humans or the animals and plants we are interested in. This is because there are great efforts to fight bacterial infections. However, most bacteria are non-pathogenic and play essential roles in the functioning of the planet. In fact, there are many examples of beneficial bacteria (starting with our gut microbiota) and it also investigates how to use bacteria in many industrial processes or to remedy very serious environmental problems, such as the accumulation of plastics in ecosystems. In this workshop, the research staff of the Institute of Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio, CSIC-UV) will present aspects related to the beneficial nature of bacteria through very simple demonstrations.