Microbial ecology

The great plate count anomaly. Counts of cells obtained via cultivation are orders of magnitude lower than those directly observed under the microscope. This is because microbiologists are able to cultivate only a minority of naturally occurring microbes using current laboratory techniques, depending on the environment.

Microbial ecology (or environmental microbiology) is a discipline where the interaction of microorganisms and their environment are studied. Microorganisms are known to have beneficial, neutral and harmful ecological relationships within their species and other species. Many scientists have studied the relationship between nature and microorganisms: Martinus Beijerinck, Sergei Winogradsky, Louis Pasteur, Robert Koch, Lorenz Hiltner, Dionicia Gamboa and many more, to understand the specific roles that these microorganisms have in biological and chemical pathways and the evolution of these microorganisms. Currently, there are several types of biotechnologies that have allowed scientists to analyze the biological and chemical properties of these microorganisms.

Many of these microorganisms have been known to form different symbiotic relationships with other organisms in their environment. Some symbiotic relationships include mutualism, commensalism, amensalism, and parasitism.

In addition, certain antimicrobial substances in the environment can kill microorganisms, thus preventing them from interacting with their environment. These can be antibiotic, antifungal, or antiviral.

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