title: Unlocking the 'microbial black box' using RNA-based stable isotope probing technologies.
abstract: Microbial ecologists have long sought to associate the transformation of compounds in the environment with the microbial clades responsible. The development of stable isotope probing (SIP) has made this possible in many ecological and biotechnological contexts. RNA-based SIP technologies represent a significant leap forward for culture-independent 'functional phylogeny' analyses, where specific consumption of a given compound carrying a (13)C signature can be associated with the small subunit ribosomal RNA molecules of the microbes that consume it. Recent advances have led to the unequivocal identification of microorganisms responsible for contaminant degradation in engineered systems, and to applications enhancing our understanding of carbon flow in terrestrial ecosystems.
authors.affiliation: Biodiversity & Ecosystem Function Group, CEH-Oxford, Mansfield Road, Oxford, UK. aswhi@ceh.ac.uk
authors.forename: Andrew S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Whiteley
authors.forename: Mike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Manefield
authors.forename: Tillmann
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lueders
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal