Microcolony cultivation on a soil substrate membrane system selects for previously uncultured soil bacteria.

ABSTRACT: Traditional microbiological methods of cultivation recover less than 1% of the total bacterial species, and the culturable portion of bacteria is not representative of the total phylogenetic diversity. Classical cultivation strategies are now known to supply excessive nutrients to a system and therefore select for fast-growing bacteria that are capable of colony or biofilm formation. New approaches to the cultivation of bacteria which rely on growth in dilute nutrient media or simulated environments are beginning to address this problem of selection. Here we describe a novel microcultivation method for soil bacteria that mimics natural conditions. Our soil slurry membrane system combines a polycarbonate membrane as a growth support and soil extract as the substrate. The result is abundant

SUBMITTER: Ferrari BC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1317317 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature