functional assessment criteria. (3) Library construction was done from the dilution offering the optimal dissimilarity among replicates. Dilution 109 was selected to construct the SMC library in this case. (4) Selection of the most promising SMC is based on functional and compositional characterization. Human health Consortia are commonly found in humans, with the predominant examples being the skin consortium and the intestinal consortium which provide protection and aid in human nutrition. Additionally, bacteria have been identified as existing within the brain (previously believed to be sterile), with metagenomic evidence suggesting the species found may be enteric in origin. As the species found appear to be well-established, have no discernible impact on human health, and are species known to form consortia when found in the gut, it is highly likely they have also formed a symbiotic consortium within the brain. Synthetic microbial consortia Synthetic microbial consortia (commonly called co-cultures) are multi-population systems that can contain a diverse range of microbial species, and are adjustable to serve a variety of industrial and ecological interests. For synthetic biology, consortia take the ability to engineer novel cell behaviors to a population level. Consortia are more common than not in nature, and generally prove to be more robust than monocultures. Just over 7,000 species of bacteria have been cultured and identified to date. Many of the estimated 1.2 million bacteria species that remain have yet to be cultured and identified, in part due to inabilities to be cultured axenically. When designing synthetic consortia, or editing naturally occurring consortia, synthetic biologists keep track of pH, temperature, initial metabolic profiles, incubation times, growth rate, and other pertinent variables. See also Biofilm Microbial intelligence Microbial loop Microbial mat Microbial population biology Synthetic microbial consortia Microbial cooperation Notes Microorganisms