Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 10 May 2002:
Vol. 296. no. 5570, pp. 1127 - 1129
DOI: 10.1126/science.1070633
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

Isolating "Uncultivable" Microorganisms in Pure Culture in a Simulated Natural Environment

T. Kaeberlein, K. Lewis,* S. S. Epstein*dagger

The majority (>99%) of microorganisms from the environment resist cultivation in the laboratory. Ribosomal RNA analysis suggests that uncultivated organisms are found in nearly every prokaryotic group, and several divisions have no known cultivable representatives. We designed a diffusion chamber that allowed the growth of previously uncultivated microorganisms in a simulated natural environment. Colonies of representative marine organisms were isolated in pure culture. These isolates did not grow on artificial media alone but formed colonies in the presence of other microorganisms. This observation may help explain the nature of microbial uncultivability.

Biology Department, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA, and Marine Science Center, Northeastern University, Nahant, MA 01908, USA.
*   These authors contributed equally to this work.

dagger    To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: s.epstein{at}neu.edu

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Hollow-Fiber Membrane Chamber as a Device for In Situ Environmental Cultivation.
Y. Aoi, T. Kinoshita, T. Hata, H. Ohta, H. Obokata, and S. Tsuneda (2009)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 75, 3826-3833
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Cultivation of Fastidious Bacteria by Viability Staining and Micromanipulation in a Soil Substrate Membrane System.
B. C. Ferrari and M. R. Gillings (2009)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 75, 3352-3354
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
From the Cover: Defined spatial structure stabilizes a synthetic multispecies bacterial community.
H. J. Kim, J. Q. Boedicker, J. W. Choi, and R. F. Ismagilov (2008)
PNAS 105, 18188-18193
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Short Peptide Induces an "Uncultivable" Microorganism To Grow In Vitro.
D. Nichols, K. Lewis, J. Orjala, S. Mo, R. Ortenberg, P. O'Connor, C. Zhao, P. Vouros, T. Kaeberlein, and S. S. Epstein (2008)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 74, 4889-4897
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Facilitation of Robust Growth of Prochlorococcus Colonies and Dilute Liquid Cultures by "Helper" Heterotrophic Bacteria.
J. J. Morris, R. Kirkegaard, M. J. Szul, Z. I. Johnson, and E. R. Zinser (2008)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 74, 4530-4534
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Cultivation of Hard-To-Culture Subsurface Mercury-Resistant Bacteria and Discovery of New merA Gene Sequences.
L. D. Rasmussen, C. Zawadsky, S. J. Binnerup, G. Oregaard, S. J. Sorensen, and N. Kroer (2008)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 74, 3795-3803
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Cultivation and Ecosystem Role of a Marine Roseobacter Clade-Affiliated Cluster Bacterium.
X. Mayali, P. J. S. Franks, and F. Azam (2008)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 74, 2595-2603
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The role of molecular genetics in sculpting the future of integrative biogeography.
B. R. Riddle, M. N. Dawson, E. A. Hadly, D. J. Hafner, M. J. Hickerson, S. J. Mantooth, and A. D. Yoder (2008)
Progress in Physical Geography 32, 173-202
   Abstract »    PDF »
Characterization of Differentiated Quiescent and Nonquiescent Cells in Yeast Stationary-Phase Cultures.
A. D. Aragon, A. L. Rodriguez, O. Meirelles, S. Roy, G. S. Davidson, P. H. Tapia, C. Allen, R. Joe, D. Benn, and M. Werner-Washburne (2008)
Mol. Biol. Cell 19, 1271-1280
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
From the Cover: The micro-Petri dish, a million-well growth chip for the culture and high-throughput screening of microorganisms.
C. J. Ingham, A. Sprenkels, J. Bomer, D. Molenaar, A. van den Berg, J. E. T. van Hylckama Vlieg, and W. M. de Vos (2007)
PNAS 104, 18217-18222
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Incubation of Environmental Samples in a Diffusion Chamber Increases the Diversity of Recovered Isolates.
A. Bollmann, K. Lewis, and S. S. Epstein (2007)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 73, 6386-6390
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Isolation of Key Methanogens for Global Methane Emission from Rice Paddy Fields: a Novel Isolate Affiliated with the Clone Cluster Rice Cluster I.
S. Sakai, H. Imachi, Y. Sekiguchi, A. Ohashi, H. Harada, and Y. Kamagata (2007)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 73, 4326-4331
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Diversity, Activity, and Abundance of Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria in Saline and Hypersaline Soda Lakes.
M. Foti, D. Y. Sorokin, B. Lomans, M. Mussman, E. E. Zacharova, N. V. Pimenov, J. G. Kuenen, and G. Muyzer (2007)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 73, 2093-2100
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Anaerobic sulfide oxidation with nitrate by a freshwater beggiatoa enrichment culture..
A. Kamp, P. Stief, and H. N. Schulz-Vogt (2006)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 72, 4755-4760
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Method for assessment of viability and morphological changes of bacteria in the early stage of colony formation on a simulated natural environment..
Y. Shimomura, R. Ohno, F. Kawai, and K. Kimbara (2006)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 72, 5037-5042
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Cultivation of Denitrifying Bacteria: Optimization of Isolation Conditions and Diversity Study.
K. Heylen, B. Vanparys, L. Wittebolle, W. Verstraete, N. Boon, and P. De Vos (2006)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 72, 2637-2643
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Characterization of Metabolism in the Fe(III)-Reducing Organism Geobacter sulfurreducens by Constraint-Based Modeling.
R. Mahadevan, D. R. Bond, J. E. Butler, A. Esteve-Nunez, M. V. Coppi, B. O. Palsson, C. H. Schilling, and D. R. Lovley (2006)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 72, 1558-1568
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Catalyzed Reporter Deposition-Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization Allows for Enrichment-Independent Detection of Microcolony-Forming Soil Bacteria.
B. C. Ferrari, N. Tujula, K. Stoner, and S. Kjelleberg (2006)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 72, 918-922
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Microcolony Cultivation on a Soil Substrate Membrane System Selects for Previously Uncultured Soil Bacteria.
B. C. Ferrari, S. J. Binnerup, and M. Gillings (2005)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 71, 8714-8720
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Microbial Diversity and Its Relationship to Planetary Protection.
R. L. Crawford (2005)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 71, 4163-4168
   Full Text »    PDF »
Insights into TOR function and rapamycin response: Chemical genomic profiling by using a high-density cell array method.
M. W. Xie, F. Jin, H. Hwang, S. Hwang, V. Anand, M. C. Duncan, and J. Huang (2005)
PNAS 102, 7215-7220
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Comparative Analysis of Bacterial Diversity in Freshwater Sediment of a Shallow Eutrophic Lake by Molecular and Improved Cultivation-Based Techniques.
H. Tamaki, Y. Sekiguchi, S. Hanada, K. Nakamura, N. Nomura, M. Matsumura, and Y. Kamagata (2005)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 71, 2162-2169
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Specialized Persister Cells and the Mechanism of Multidrug Tolerance in Escherichia coli.
I. Keren, D. Shah, A. Spoering, N. Kaldalu, and K. Lewis (2004)
J. Bacteriol. 186, 8172-8180
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Isolation and Characterization of Novel Marine-Derived Actinomycete Taxa Rich in Bioactive Metabolites.
N. A. Magarvey, J. M. Keller, V. Bernan, M. Dworkin, and D. H. Sherman (2004)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 70, 7520-7529
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Metabolic Primers for Detection of (Per)chlorate-Reducing Bacteria in the Environment and Phylogenetic Analysis of cld Gene Sequences.
K. S. Bender, M. R. Rice, W. H. Fugate, J. D. Coates, and L. A. Achenbach (2004)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 70, 5651-5658
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
New Strategies for Cultivation and Detection of Previously Uncultured Microbes.
B. S. Stevenson, S. A. Eichorst, J. T. Wertz, T. M. Schmidt, and J. A. Breznak (2004)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 70, 4748-4755
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Catellibacterium nectariphilum gen. nov., sp. nov., which requires a diffusible compound from a strain related to the genus Sphingomonas for vigorous growth.
Y. Tanaka, S. Hanada, A. Manome, T. Tsuchida, R. Kurane, K. Nakamura, and Y. Kamagata (2004)
Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 54, 955-959
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Cultivation and Growth Characteristics of a Diverse Group of Oligotrophic Marine Gammaproteobacteria.
J.-C. Cho and S. J. Giovannoni (2004)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 70, 432-440
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Laboratory Cultivation of Widespread and Previously Uncultured Soil Bacteria.
S. J. Joseph, P. Hugenholtz, P. Sangwan, C. A. Osborne, and P. H. Janssen (2003)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 69, 7210-7215
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Characterization of Microbial Communities in Gas Industry Pipelines.
X. Y. Zhu, J. Lubeck, and J. J. Kilbane II (2003)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 69, 5354-5363
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Ultrastructural observation of Helicobacter pylori in glucose-supplemented culture media.
F. Sato, N. Saito, K. Konishi, E. Shoji, M. Kato, H. Takeda, T. Sugiyama, and M. Asaka (2003)
J. Med. Microbiol. 52, 675-679
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Cultivating the uncultured.
K. Zengler, G. Toledo, M. Rappe, J. Elkins, E. J. Mathur, J. M. Short, and M. Keller (2002)
PNAS 99, 15681-15686
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)