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So Many Microbes, So Little Time

1996; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 14; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1038/nbt0296-122

1546-1696

Bernard Dixon,

Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Biomedical Research

A new kingdom of bacteria in a Yellowstone hot spring, hitherto unappreciated biodiversity in the acidic Tinto River in Spain, and fresh insights into the sophistication of biofilms were just three of the ingredients on the menu for a recent meeting in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, marking the work of pioneer Dutch microbiologist Martinus Beijerinck.Each reflects the continuing relevance of the philosophy of the "Delft School" that Beijerinck founded, especially of the importance of studying the physiology of microorganisms in relation to their environment.A dedicated workaholic, Beijerinck discovered nitrogen fixation by rhizobia, pioneered the study of microbial sulfate reduction and butanol fermentation, introduced the first enrichment culture methods, and (way ahead of his time) discerned that tobacco mosaic disease was caused by a virus.The meeting marked the centennial of Beijerinck's arrival in Delft, where, together with his successor Jan Kluyver and student C.B. van Niel, he founded the Delft School, whose principles have influenced countless microbiologists worldwide--especially through the summer schools organized by van Niel after he joined Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station in California in 1929.Many highlights of the Amsterdam meeting would have delighted Beijerinck.Not least was the "Anammox" process, discovered recently by J. Gijs Kuenen and colleagues at Delft University, through which ammonium is converted anaerobically to dinitrogen gas, with nitrate or nitrite as the electron acceptor.Although this has clear industrial potential, the organism responsible for the novel oxidation remains nameless.A call to the conference audience for help in identifying its peculiarly shaped cells went unanswered.Indeed, a major theme of the meeting was the richness of microbial activities only now being recognized and the richness of those that remain to be discovered.With unknown bacterial species estimated at over two million, and a tiny minority of all microorganisms culturable by standard techniques, there is scope for molecular methods to reveal countless more.Norman Pace oflndiana University (Bloomington, IN) described one approach using ribosomal RNA gene cloning and sequencing, hybridization probes, and PCR not only to demonstrate the existence of organisms but also to indicate their properties, by BIOtrECHNOLOGY VOL.