BIOREPORTERS AND BIOSENSORS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS

摘要

The study of microbial ecology is necessary for a full understanding of the natural world. Microorganisms affect every aspect of life, from global nutrient cycling to organis-mal physiology to specific commensal relationships that fill diverse niches. The investigation of microbial ecology is made more difficult by the extremely small size of the organisms, as well as by the multiplicity of species that characterize a microbial community. In fact, most of the microorganisms have not yet been described, so that any examination of a natural community will, of necessity, involve only a minority of species.