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Challenges and approaches in assessing the interplay between microorganisms and their physical micro-environments

Spatial structure over scales ranging from nanometres to centimetres (and beyond) varies markedly in diverse habitats and the industry-relevant settings that support microbial activity. Developing an understanding of the interplay between a structured environment and the associated microbial process...

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Autores principales: Harvey, Harry J., Wildman, Ricky D., Mooney, Sacha J., Avery, Simon V.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Research Network of Computational and Structural Biotechnology 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7588748/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33133427
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.csbj.2020.09.030
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author Harvey, Harry J.
Wildman, Ricky D.
Mooney, Sacha J.
Avery, Simon V.
author_facet Harvey, Harry J.
Wildman, Ricky D.
Mooney, Sacha J.
Avery, Simon V.
author_sort Harvey, Harry J.
collection PubMed
description Spatial structure over scales ranging from nanometres to centimetres (and beyond) varies markedly in diverse habitats and the industry-relevant settings that support microbial activity. Developing an understanding of the interplay between a structured environment and the associated microbial processes and ecology is fundamental, but challenging. Several novel approaches have recently been developed and implemented to help address key questions for the field: from the use of imaging tools such as X-ray Computed Tomography to explore microbial growth in soils, to the fabrication of scratched materials to examine microbial-surface interactions, to the design of microfluidic devices to track microbial biofilm formation and the metabolic processes therein. This review discusses new approaches and challenges for incorporating structured elements into the study of microbial processes across different scales. We highlight how such methods can be pivotal for furthering our understanding of microbial interactions with their environments.
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spelling pubmed-75887482020-10-30 Challenges and approaches in assessing the interplay between microorganisms and their physical micro-environments Harvey, Harry J. Wildman, Ricky D. Mooney, Sacha J. Avery, Simon V. Comput Struct Biotechnol J Review Article Spatial structure over scales ranging from nanometres to centimetres (and beyond) varies markedly in diverse habitats and the industry-relevant settings that support microbial activity. Developing an understanding of the interplay between a structured environment and the associated microbial processes and ecology is fundamental, but challenging. Several novel approaches have recently been developed and implemented to help address key questions for the field: from the use of imaging tools such as X-ray Computed Tomography to explore microbial growth in soils, to the fabrication of scratched materials to examine microbial-surface interactions, to the design of microfluidic devices to track microbial biofilm formation and the metabolic processes therein. This review discusses new approaches and challenges for incorporating structured elements into the study of microbial processes across different scales. We highlight how such methods can be pivotal for furthering our understanding of microbial interactions with their environments. Research Network of Computational and Structural Biotechnology 2020-10-01 /pmc/articles/PMC7588748/ /pubmed/33133427 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.csbj.2020.09.030 Text en © 2020 The Author(s) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Review Article
Harvey, Harry J.
Wildman, Ricky D.
Mooney, Sacha J.
Avery, Simon V.
Challenges and approaches in assessing the interplay between microorganisms and their physical micro-environments
title Challenges and approaches in assessing the interplay between microorganisms and their physical micro-environments
title_full Challenges and approaches in assessing the interplay between microorganisms and their physical micro-environments
title_fullStr Challenges and approaches in assessing the interplay between microorganisms and their physical micro-environments
title_full_unstemmed Challenges and approaches in assessing the interplay between microorganisms and their physical micro-environments
title_short Challenges and approaches in assessing the interplay between microorganisms and their physical micro-environments
title_sort challenges and approaches in assessing the interplay between microorganisms and their physical micro-environments
topic Review Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7588748/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33133427
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.csbj.2020.09.030
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