Ecology and industrial microbiology: Microbial diversity - sustaining the Earth and industry.

Larry’s research focuses on biocatalysis and biodegradation. Laboratory studies are centered on microbial catabolic enzymes; complementary informatics projects revolve around the University of Minnesota Biocatalysis/Biodegradation Database, http://umbbd.ahc.umn.edu/ index.html. Industrial microbiology exploits the ecological adaptations that microorganisms have developed to communicate with and survive in their environments. This issue of Current Opinion in Microbiology explores the intersection of industrial microbiology with ecological microbiology, which is the study of these adaptations. The reviews in this issue focus on the structure and function of microbial communities and the transformation of organic and inorganic substrates by bacteria. These topics unite industrial applications with ecological innovation, using bacterial transformation of chemical environments and their virtually limitless adaptive strategies to cultivate industrial applications. Several themes emerge that illustrate how the complexity and vitality of microbial communities and their interactions with the chemical and physical environment produce their myriad industrial uses: microbial ecology requires innovative methods to illuminate the lives of microorganisms in their natural habitats; communities and the behavior of individuals in them are shaped by communication networks mediated by diffusible signals; microorganisms transform the environments in which they live, and the biochemical drivers of the transformations are the instruments of medicinal, agricultural and industrial applications.