Microbial diversity beyond E. coli: new microbial worlds, new concepts in biology

Abstract

Microbial diversity explores the universe of microorganisms beyond classical models such as Escherichia coli, influenza virus, or Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Exploring such new microbial worlds is essential for a microbiology which needs to learn about all the scientific and practical possibilities offered by billions of years of microbial evolution. Here we illustrate some examples of how studying a wide range of microbial diversity can assist microbiology as a fundamental and a practical science.