1. Extremophiles. 16S rRNA-based microbial ecology techniques have revealed that the vast majority of bacterial species in nature have never been cultivated in a laboratory. Determining the ecological lifestyles of these bacteria is a major task facing microbial ecologists. We combine modern cultivation techniques with DNA-based molecular methods to explore the metabolic potential of this uncultured diversity. The work focuses particularly on geothermal environments such as Hell’s Gate in New Zealand (photo), as these environments are known to be “hotspots” for exotic microbial diversity. For example, we have isolated the first member of Candidate Division OP10, a phylum-level group previously known only from cultivation-independent surveys of 16S rRNA genes.
2. Environmental microbiology and genomics of the methane cycle. Some bacteria are able to consume the major greenhouse gas methane, and are therefore potential targets for strategies to combat climate change. By searching for DNA and phospholipid signature molecules of these bacteria in soil, and applying molecular methods such as stable-isotope-probing, quantitative PCR, and fluorescence in situ hybridization, it is possible to study them without the need for cultivation. Collectively, these methods can give a convincing picture of “who is doing what, and how?” in the environment
