Big questions, small worlds: microbial model systems in ecology

被引:304
作者
Jessup, CM [1 ]
Kassen, R
Forde, SE
Kerr, B
Buckling, A
Rainey, PB
Bohannan, BJM
机构
[1] Stanford Univ, Dept Biol Sci, Stanford, CA 94305 USA
[2] Univ Ottawa, Dept Biol, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada
[3] Univ Minnesota, Dept Ecol Evolut & Behav, St Paul, MN 55108 USA
[4] Univ Bath, Dept Biol & Biochem, Bath BA2 7AY, Avon, England
[5] Univ Oxford, Dept Plant Sci, Oxford OX1 3RB, England
[6] Univ Auckland, Sch Biol Sci, Auckland 1, New Zealand
基金
英国自然环境研究理事会; 美国国家科学基金会; 加拿大自然科学与工程研究理事会;
关键词
D O I
10.1016/j.tree.2004.01.008
中图分类号
Q14 [生态学(生物生态学)];
学科分类号
071012 ; 0713 ;
摘要
Although many biologists have embraced microbial model systems as tools to address genetic and physiological questions, the explicit use of microbial communities as model systems in ecology has traditionally been more restricted. Here, we highlight recent studies that use laboratory-based microbial model systems to address ecological questions. Such studies have significantly advanced our understanding of processes that have proven difficult to study in field systems, including the genetic and biochemical underpinnings of traits involved in ecological interactions, and the ecological differences driving evolutionary change. It is the simplicity of microbial model systems that makes them such powerful tools for the study of ecology. Such simplicity enables the high degrees of experimental control and replication that are necessary to address many questions that are inaccessible through field observation or experimentation.
引用
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页码:189 / 197
页数:9
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