Physiological profiling of microbial communities.

摘要: While novel methods to discover new types and characterize microbial diversity are valuable, alternative approaches for describing communities in ecologically relevant terms needed provide insight into the spatial temporal patterns both natural man-made ecosystems. This chapter concludes with a synthesis of various community-level physiological profiling (CLPP) approaches, including comparison their relative strengths weaknesses, discussion appropriate applications, definition future areas research. The CLPP assay is sensitive, simple, rapid, relatively inexpensive means discriminating among environmental samples. A number factors (high substrate concentrations, indirect evaluation respiration via redox chemistry, presence unknown proprietary ingredients) limit ability Biolog examine functionally shifts communities. Alternative techniques developed improve functional relevance involve direct measurement respiration, either based on consumption (O2) or product appearance (CO2), eliminating bias as result cells that cannot take up inhibited by dye. further incorporation technologies continually encouraged, existing represent valuable tools evaluating affecting metabolic state heterotrophic