Methods of Studying Diversity of Bacterial Communities: A Review

Bacterial life is a predominant component of all environments, occurring in communities usually of complex diversity. Bacteria are engines of globally important processes which makes them subject of interest to many scientific studies. Although many kinds of methods have been developed and microbial ecology has undergone a profound change in the last two decades with regard to methods employed, the analysis of community composition and function still remains a great challenge. In this article we present an overview of methods commonly used for the study of bacterial diversity. Emphasis was placed on cultivation, biochemical and chemotaxonomic, and molecular-genetic based methods.