Microbial Ecology—New Directions, New Importance

Abstract

Microbial ecology is the study of microorganisms in their natural habitats. In these habitats, they are rarely in pure culture and are usually interacting with other microorganisms, are sometimes interacting with host organisms, and are always interacting with their physicochemical environment. These conditions are usually very different from those used to grow microorganisms in pure culture in the laboratory. Since Bergey’s Manual is a compendium of properties of pure cultures of procaryotes, it might appear that a discussion of microbial ecology is inappropriate. However, ecological studies have a profound effect on our understanding of pure cultures, and this impact will become more important in the twenty-first century. This chapter will not give a comprehensive overview of microbial ecology, but will, instead, discuss the relevance of microbial ecology to pure culture studies and vice versa.