New isolation techniques
Presently cultured microorganisms do not represent the entirety of the abundant microbial diversity in Earth’s oceans. Developing new isolation techniques will provide new technology for isolating and studying novel microbes in fields ranging from evolutionary biology to medicine in laboratories across the globe.
Linear counter gradients in a gel-stabilized column create flexible conditions for microorganisms to grow at substrate ratios they prefer. Image by John Amaral
Radial substrate gradients, achieved by agarose gel balls, mimic conditions in soils or sediment closely.
A continuous-flow hanging sponge bioreactor for the enrichment and isolation of slow growing microbes. Image from Imachi et al., Nat Protoc (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41596-022-00735-1
The continuous-flow hanging sponge bioreactor supplies nutrients and removes waste products continuously. Image from Imachi et al., Nat Protoc (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41596-022-00735-1