Abstract
The earth contains a huge number of largely uncharacterized Bacteria and Archaea. Microbiologists are struggling to summarize their genetic diversity and classify them, which has resulted in heated debates on methods for defining species, mechanisms that lead to speciation and whether microbial species even exist. New molecular microbiological techniques allow for environmental screening to determine the presence of nucleic acids in environmental samples. These molecular genetic techniques allow screening for organisms that could be maintained in culture along with those that cannot be identified by standard non molecular means as they cannot be cultured. Although not allowing the description of specific organisms, this technique permits determining numbers and lineages of microorganisms in environmental samples, notably phylogenetic relationships and genetic similarity to sequences in established databases. Recent progress has revealed that the capture of genetic resources from complex microbial communities allows the discovery of a richness of new enzymatic diversity that had not previously been imagined. This new diversity, constitutes a large potential of new and improved applications in industry, medicine, agriculture, bioenergy etc., and promises to facilitate in a significant manner, our transition to a sustainable society, by contributing to the transition to renewable sources of energy, chemicals and materials, the reduction of pollutant burdens. Hiding within the as-yet-undiscovered microorganisms are cures for diseases, means to clean polluted environments, new food sources, and better ways to manufacture products daily used in modern society. This chapter focuses on the structural and functional diversity of the microbes around the globe, which are the primary and richest source of natural genetic resources that can be utilized for the improvement of agriculture, food production, and human health as well as for the welfare of the environment and ecosystems.
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Malik, A., Masood, F., Grohmann, E. (2013). Management of Microbial Resources in the Environment: A Broad Perspective. In: Malik, A., Grohmann, E., Alves, M. (eds) Management of Microbial Resources in the Environment. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5931-2_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5931-2_1
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