Microbial isolation and cultivation

Microorganisms are naturally present in the environment and can influence the (geo-) chemistry and mineralogy.

To analyze the microbial diversity in natural samples (e.g. rocks, sandy soils, waters) and to understand to what extend microbial metabolisms influence their environment, the isolation and enrichment of microorganisms is necessary. Additionally, the extraction of high-molecular DNA helps to identify (enriched) microorganisms and to depict the microbial community structure. 

For this reason, environmental samples are collected and solid or liquid media are used to enrich microorganisms. To cover different types of metabolic pathways, different media-variations are applied: aerobic and anaerobic, variations in temperature, pH and salinity as well as different combinations and concentrations of nutrients, electron donors and acceptors. After the enrichment and the obtaining of pure cultures, DNA is extracted and a long fragment of the 16S rRNA-gene is amplified by PCR and sequenced (Sanger Sequencing) to identify the isolate(s).