Microbial Community Analysis with EcoPlates

Microbial communities provide useful information about environmental change. Microorganisms are present in virtually all environments and are typically the first organisms to react to chemical and physical changes in the environment. Changes in microbial communities are often a precursor to changes in the health and viability of the environment as a whole.

Created in accord with recommendations of microbial ecologists specifically for community analysis and microbial ecological studies. Biolog EcoPlates have been found to provide a sensitive and reliable index of environmental change.

• Measure the metabolism of 31 carbon sources per assay

• Each assay panel tests in triplicate

• Simple colorimetric readout

• Readable with any microplate reader

This approach, called community-level physiological profiling, has been demonstrated to be effective at distinguished spatial and temporal changes in microbial communities. In applied ecological research, the MicroPlates are used as both an assay of the stability of a normal population and to detect and assess changes following the onset of an environmental variable.

Researchers have used EcoPlates for years in numerous applications including:

Analyzing population changes in soil

Water and wastewater testing

Activated sludge, compost and industrial waste testing

Bioremediation and effects of toxic chemicals