Abstract :
Stable isotope probing (SIP), coupled with advances in genomics and analytical chemistry, is leading to major progress in biodegradation research. A recent paper describes the use of SIP to determine the primary member of a complex community that is responsible for naphthalene catabolism in situ. SIP is being widely adopted in biodegradation research and will, when combined with metagenome sequencing and biodegradation database information, continue to provide new insights into complex microbial environments.
