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An appraisal of methods for linking environmental processes to specific microbial taxa

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Abstract

The last decade has witnessed a revolution in the development of methods and technology available to investigate the ecological roles of microorganisms in the environment. As a consequence, microbial ecologists have gained a better understanding of the functional aspects of microorganisms in marine, groundwater and freshwater systems, soils, sediments, hot springs, wastewater treatment plants, landfills, the rhizosphere and the animal gut. This review provides a compilation and critical comparison of the currently available methods linking microbial function with phylogeny, including a description and advantages and limitations of each method. Examples are also provided to illustrate their application. The ongoing improvements of these ‘function-identity’ methods points to a bright future in our understanding of complex ecological processes and to improved management of microbe dependent ecosystem services.

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Notes

  1. A number of methods are compared here in terms of their sensitivity. In this context, sensitivity refers to the degree of labelling required for a particular method to generate a result.

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Acknowledgments

Maria-Luisa Gutierrez-Zamora is supported by a University International Postgraduate Award from the University of New South Wales. Mike Manefield is supported by the Environmental Biotechnology Cooperative Research Centre.

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  1. Centre for Marine BioInnovation, School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Maria-Luisa Gutierrez-Zamora & Mike Manefield

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  1. Maria-Luisa Gutierrez-Zamora
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Correspondence to Mike Manefield.

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Gutierrez-Zamora, ML., Manefield, M. An appraisal of methods for linking environmental processes to specific microbial taxa. Rev Environ Sci Biotechnol 9, 153–185 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11157-010-9205-8

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