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Nucleic Acid-Based Techniques for Analyzing the Diversity, Structure, and Function of Microbial Communities in Marine Waters and Sediments

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Book cover Ocean Margin Systems

Abstract

Many of the biogeochemical reactions that occur in marine sediments are catalyzed by the complex communities of bacteria and archaea living there. Linking specific microorganisms to specific chemical transformations has been a challenge for microbiologists, because microorganisms generally lack morphological detail and are therefore much more difficult to identify than macroorganisms. Identification has traditionally required pure-culture isolation, followed by often time-consuming chemotaxonomic characterization. In contrast to their narrow range of morphologies, microorganisms are genetically very diverse. This genetic diversity has recently been exploited for the in situ identification of individual microbial cells, and even of their biochemical activities. This paper is intended to give scientists of neighboring disciplines some insight into how nucleic acidbased tools such as cloning, sequencing and hybridization are used by microbiologists to analyze the diversity, structure and function of microbial communities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max Planck Institut für Marine Mikrobiologie, Celsiusstrasse 1, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    B. J. MacGregor, K. Ravenschlag & R. Amann

Authors
  1. B. J. MacGregor
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  2. K. Ravenschlag
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  3. R. Amann
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, Universität Bremen, Klagenfurter Straße 2, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    Gerold Wefer  & Dierk Hebbeln  & 

  2. DEEPSEAS Benthic Biology Group George Deacon Division for Ocean Processes, Southampton Oceanography Centre, European Way, Empress Dock, SO14 3ZH, Southampton, UK

    David Billett

  3. Max-Planck-Institut für Marine Mikrobiologie, Celsiusstraße 1, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    Bo Barker Jørgensen

  4. Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570, Bremerhaven, Germany

    Michael Schlüter

  5. Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands

    Tjeerd C. E. van Weering

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© 2002 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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MacGregor, B.J., Ravenschlag, K., Amann, R. (2002). Nucleic Acid-Based Techniques for Analyzing the Diversity, Structure, and Function of Microbial Communities in Marine Waters and Sediments. In: Wefer, G., Billett, D., Hebbeln, D., Jørgensen, B.B., Schlüter, M., van Weering, T.C.E. (eds) Ocean Margin Systems. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-05127-6_26

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-05127-6_26

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-07872-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-05127-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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