About this Research Topic
Most microorganisms are uncultured (uncultivated), though there are debates on their proportions in the environment. Two major approaches have been used in the study of the yet uncultured microorganisms: cultivation-dependent and independent. With both approaches, rapid progress has been made in the field due to the development and application of a variety of new technologies, including in situ cultivation, high-throughput cultivation, single-cell isolation, and “omics” technologies, etc.
Improving the ratios of cultivation of ‘previously’ uncultured microorganisms depends on the large-scale application of the newly-developed cultivation technologies. The development of novel technologies is being hampered by our limited knowledge of the physiology (and thus reasons of ‘uncultivability’) of uncultured microorganisms. Applications of the cultivation-independent technologies allow for the detection and accurate estimation of the diversity of uncultured microorganisms and for the deciphering of their physiology and ecology.
The goal of this Research Topic is to provide a forum for communicating recent advances in the development and application of cultivation-dependent and independent technologies for the study of the diversity, physiology, and ecology of previously uncultured microorganisms.
This Research Topic welcomes the submission of Orignal Research and Review manuscripts focused on technologies for the study of the diversity, physiology, and ecology of uncultured microorganisms from various environments (soil, freshwater, seawater, sediment, gut, etc.). Themes include but are not limited to:
• Development and application of novel cultivation technologies
• Cultivation-independent studies of uncultured microorganisms
• Physiology of uncultured microorganisms and reasons for noncultivability
Improving the ratios of cultivation of ‘previously’ uncultured microorganisms depends on the large-scale application of the newly-developed cultivation technologies. The development of novel technologies is being hampered by our limited knowledge of the physiology (and thus reasons of ‘uncultivability’) of uncultured microorganisms. Applications of the cultivation-independent technologies allow for the detection and accurate estimation of the diversity of uncultured microorganisms and for the deciphering of their physiology and ecology.
The goal of this Research Topic is to provide a forum for communicating recent advances in the development and application of cultivation-dependent and independent technologies for the study of the diversity, physiology, and ecology of previously uncultured microorganisms.
This Research Topic welcomes the submission of Orignal Research and Review manuscripts focused on technologies for the study of the diversity, physiology, and ecology of uncultured microorganisms from various environments (soil, freshwater, seawater, sediment, gut, etc.). Themes include but are not limited to:
• Development and application of novel cultivation technologies
• Cultivation-independent studies of uncultured microorganisms
• Physiology of uncultured microorganisms and reasons for noncultivability
Keywords: Uncultured microorganisms, cultivation techniques, single-cell genomics, metagenomics, reasons for noncultivability
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
