μREACT: A Microfluidic System for Rapid Evaluation of Trans-kingdom Interactions

Trans-kingdom interactions between cells play pivotal roles in shaping intricate ecological and biological networks. However, our grasp of these interactions remains incomplete. Specifically, the vast phylogenetic spectrum of microorganisms capable of interacting with a given host cell type remains obscure, primarily due to the absence of efficient, high-throughput, single-cell resolution systems that can rapidly decipher these interactions. Here, we introduce μREACT (Microfluidic system for Rapid Evaluation of bacterial Adherence and Communication in Trans-kingdom interactions), a microfluidic system designed to analyze interkingdom interactions. μREACT not only unveiled both recognized and previously unknown interactions but also enabled their detailed characterization. The system features the use of microfluidic dielectrophoretic separation of bacteria that adhere to host cells at single-cell (digital) resolution, and enabled the sorting of 10