What can stable isotope probing do for bioremediation?

The ability of microbial ecologists to identify microorganisms responsible for recognised environmental processes in situ is hampered by the minuteness of microbes and the complexity of the communities in which they reside. Unlike macro-ecologists, we are unable to directly observe organisms of interest in multi-species consortia performing a chemical transformation. Because of this, microbiologists have learnt to apply elegant molecular methodologies to associate phylogeny with environmental functions. This review summarises the lead role stable isotopes are playing in circumventing this obstacle, and highlights how their application in the field of biodegradation awaits full exploitation. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier Ltd.