Stable-isotope probing of nucleic acids: a window to the function of uncultured microorganisms.
Phylogeny based on ribosomal RNA sequences alone is rarely a reliable indicator of microbial function. To circumvent this problem, nucleic acid based techniques have been developed that exploit the physical properties of stable isotopes to study microbially mediated processes within complex environmental samples. Investigations using labelled substrates, or which detect variations in the natural abundance of isotopes, have thus revealed the metabolic function of microorganisms without the need to isolate them in culture.
Radajewski
Stefan
S
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK.
McDonald
Ian R
IR
Murrell
J Colin
JC
D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D002247:Carbon Isotopes / Q000378:metabolism*; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D007553:Isotope Labeling / Q000379:methods; D009696:Nucleic Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis
D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D009696:Nucleic Acids; D012329:RNA, Bacterial