
Analysis of microbial community functional diversity using sole‐carbon‐source utilisation profiles – a critique
Author(s) -
PrestonMafham Juliet,
Boddy Lynne,
Randerson Peter F.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
fems microbiology ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.377
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1574-6941
pISSN - 0168-6496
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6941.2002.tb00990.x
Subject(s) - biology , identification (biology) , diversity (politics) , functional diversity , carbon source , biochemical engineering , replication (statistics) , ecology , range (aeronautics) , computational biology , engineering , biochemistry , virology , sociology , anthropology , aerospace engineering
Information on functional diversity (metabolic potential) is essential for understanding the role of microbial communities in different environments. Variations of the commercially available BIOLOG bacterial identification system plates are now widely used to assess functional diversity of microorganisms from environmental samples, based on utilisation patterns of a wide range (up to 95) of single carbon sources. There are many problems as well as benefits of using the approach, but the former are often disregarded. Here the basis of the approach is summarised, including type of plate to use, treatment of samples, replication, incubation conditions, monitoring of plates, and statistical analysis. The pros and cons of its use are critically assessed, inherent biases and limitations are pointed out and methodological difficulties are considered. Possible ways of overcoming some of the difficulties are suggested.