Relationship between Functional Diversity and Genetic Diversity in Complex Microbial Communities

The operation of particular biological systems, whether ecosystem or microcosm, depends on the interplay of three general factors — environment, biological community structure (diversity), and biological activity (function). The role of diversity, particularly of micro-organisms, and the relationship between microbial diversity and function is largely unknown. The application of molecular biological techniques has shown that microbial communities, particularly in soil, are very complex (Torsvik et al., 1990; Ritz et al., 1997) and understanding this relationship is not straightforward. We set out in this paper to outline some of the concepts involved in the study of microbial diversity, and to present an overview of the relationship between diversity and function.