(b) Schematic of the experimental design for this study. Species were combined using an approximately 1:1 or 19:1 initial proportion based on absorbance measurements at 600 nm (OD600) into microtiter plates using liquid-handling robotic manipulation. Approximately every 12 hr, samples were collected for multiplexed 16S rRNA gene sequencing (black circles). Relative abundance was measured using multiplexed 16S rRNA gene sequencing of the V3-V4 region using dual-indexed primers compatible with an Illumina platform (stacked bar plot, bottom right). Serial transfers were performed in approximately 24 intervals (purple bars, top) by transferring an aliquot of the communities into fresh media using a 1:20 dilution. In parallel, time-resolved OD600 measurements of monospecies and consortia were performed. 