Monitoring complex bacterial communities using culture-independent molecular techniques: application to soil environment

Over the last decade, important advances in molecular biology led to the de velopment of culture-independent approaches to describing bacterial communi ties. These new strategies, based on the analysis of DNA directly extracted from environmental samples, circumvent the steps of isolation and culturin g of bacteria, which are known for their selectivity leading to a non-repre sentative view of the extent of bacterial diversity. This review provides a n overview of the potentials and limitations of some molecular approaches c urrently used in microbial ecology. Examples of applications to the study o f indigenous soil microbial community illustrate the feasibility and the po wer of such approaches. (C) 2000 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevi er SAS.