• Molecular & Cellular Toxicology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.11-14
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• 2006

In this study we attempted to develop a novel genomic method to selectively isolate target functional microbial genomes from environmental samples. For this purpose, stable isotope probing (SIP) was applied in selectively isolating organic pollutant-assimilating populations. When soil microbes were fed with $^{13}C-labeled $ biphenyl, biphenyl-utilizing cells were incorporated with the heavy carbon isotope. The heavy DNA portion was successfully separated by CsCl equilibrium density gradient. And the diversity in the heavy DNA was sufficiently reduced, being suitable for the current DNA microarray techniques to detect biphenyl-utilizing populations in the soil. In addition, we proposed a new way to get more genetic information by combining this SIP method with selective metagenomic approach. The increased selective power of these new DNA isolation methods will be expected to provide a good quality of new genetic information, which, in turn, will result in development of a variety of biomarkers that may be used in assessing ecotoxicology issues including the impacts of organic hazards, and antibiotic-resistant pathogens on human and ecological systems.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2009

Microbes within complex communities show quite different physiology from pure cultured microbes. However, historically the study of microbes has focused on single species in pure culture and most of microbes are unculturable in our labs, so understanding of complex communities lags behind understanding of pure cultured cells. Methodologies including stable isotope probing (SIP), a combination of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and microautoradiography (MAR), isotope micrarray, and metagenomics have given insights into the uncultivated majority to link phylogenetic and functional information. Here, we review some of the most recent literatures, with an emphasis on methodological improvements to the sensitivity and utilities of these methods to link phylogeny and function in complex microbial communities.