Applications of molecular biology and biotechnology in oil field microbial biodiversity research

In recent years, with more and more attention given to the study of microorganisms in oil fields, molecular biology and biotechnology methodology has been applied prosperously. This article described the most commonly-used molecular biology techniques and related biotechnological advances in oil fields research at present, which are based mainly on 16s rRNA, such as 16S rRNA sequencing, denaturant gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP), etc. The article also points out their advantages and disadvantages, respectively and introduces some of the micro-organisms, which are of largest concerns in the research.