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Essay - The role of ecological theory in microbial ecology

Essay - The role of ecological theory in microbial ecology
Essay - The role of ecological theory in microbial ecology
Microbial ecology is currently undergoing a revolution, with repercussions spreading throughout microbiology, ecology and ecosystem science. The rapid accumulation of molecular data is uncovering vast diversity, abundant uncultivated microbial groups and novel microbial functions. This accumulation of data requires the application of theory to provide organization, structure, mechanistic insight and, ultimately, predictive power that is of practical value, but the application of theory in microbial ecology is currently very limited. Here we argue that the full potential of the ongoing revolution will not be realized if research is not directed and driven by theory, and that the generality of established ecological theory must be tested using microbial systems.
1740-1526
384-392
Prosser, James I.
086622f1-1fe1-41e3-bfe0-89a0bd649ebd
Bohannan, Brendan J. M.
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Curtis, Tom P.
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Ellis, Richard J.
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Firestone, Mary K.
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Freckleton, Rob P.
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Green, Jessica L.
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Green, Laura E.
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Killham, Ken
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Lennon, Jack J.
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Osborn, A. Mark
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Solan, Martin
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van der Gast, Christopher J.
eb316b36-8eff-4508-a17a-64fe024d5611
Young, J. Peter W.
d0f9e7bd-5448-4ffd-81c9-e538e93f5e06
Prosser, James I.
086622f1-1fe1-41e3-bfe0-89a0bd649ebd
Bohannan, Brendan J. M.
0b753d7f-9550-40ad-9abe-d1a440054401
Curtis, Tom P.
2b8446bd-db3b-4120-ad21-d1be43f58865
Ellis, Richard J.
ddaa2eb1-0e1a-4730-acac-34534ccc9026
Firestone, Mary K.
a6520cdd-7871-4421-b6a5-9a546f905d21
Freckleton, Rob P.
4b0f1661-99d6-448d-8635-89970a2c850c
Green, Jessica L.
720c6579-f1f4-461d-b450-dc96d1034271
Green, Laura E.
532075cb-17f4-4453-967b-e5102f414f05
Killham, Ken
0331c809-c043-44fa-bb77-aa612ab641b4
Lennon, Jack J.
f9bf3fef-f362-4351-9a9a-0cefcc9f94b1
Osborn, A. Mark
5985c6ae-f2a7-42c8-a979-6cada6b1387d
Solan, Martin
c28b294a-1db6-4677-8eab-bd8d6221fecf
van der Gast, Christopher J.
eb316b36-8eff-4508-a17a-64fe024d5611
Young, J. Peter W.
d0f9e7bd-5448-4ffd-81c9-e538e93f5e06

Prosser, James I., Bohannan, Brendan J. M., Curtis, Tom P., Ellis, Richard J., Firestone, Mary K., Freckleton, Rob P., Green, Jessica L., Green, Laura E., Killham, Ken, Lennon, Jack J., Osborn, A. Mark, Solan, Martin, van der Gast, Christopher J. and Young, J. Peter W. (2007) Essay - The role of ecological theory in microbial ecology. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 5, 384-392. (doi:10.1038/nrmicro1643).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Microbial ecology is currently undergoing a revolution, with repercussions spreading throughout microbiology, ecology and ecosystem science. The rapid accumulation of molecular data is uncovering vast diversity, abundant uncultivated microbial groups and novel microbial functions. This accumulation of data requires the application of theory to provide organization, structure, mechanistic insight and, ultimately, predictive power that is of practical value, but the application of theory in microbial ecology is currently very limited. Here we argue that the full potential of the ongoing revolution will not be realized if research is not directed and driven by theory, and that the generality of established ecological theory must be tested using microbial systems.

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More information

Published date: May 2007
Additional Information: © 2007 Nature Publishing Group

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 457759
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/457759
ISSN: 1740-1526
PURE UUID: 5303717e-b598-4c0b-a71c-85df3c4f6ac7
ORCID for Martin Solan: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-9924-5574

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Date deposited: 16 Jun 2022 16:32
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:15

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Contributors

Author: James I. Prosser
Author: Brendan J. M. Bohannan
Author: Tom P. Curtis
Author: Richard J. Ellis
Author: Mary K. Firestone
Author: Rob P. Freckleton
Author: Jessica L. Green
Author: Laura E. Green
Author: Ken Killham
Author: Jack J. Lennon
Author: A. Mark Osborn
Author: Martin Solan ORCID iD
Author: Christopher J. van der Gast
Author: J. Peter W. Young

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