Microbial ecology

"Environmental microbiology" redirects here. For the journal, see Environmental Microbiology.

Microbial ecology (or environmental microbiology) is a discipline where the interaction of microorganisms and their environment are studied. Microorganisms are known to have beneficial, neutral and harmful ecological relationships within their species and other species. Many scientists have studied the relationship between nature and microorganisms: Martinus Beijerinck, Sergei Winogradsky, Louis Pasteur, Robert Koch, Lorenz Hiltner, Dionicia Gamboa and many more, to understand the specific roles that these microorganisms have in biological and chemical pathways and the evolution of these microorganisms. Currently, there are several types of biotechnologies that have allowed scientists to analyze the biological and chemical properties of these microorganisms.

Many of these microorganisms have been known to form different symbiotic relationships with other organisms in their environment. Some symbiotic relationships include mutualism, commensalism, amensalism, and parasitism.

In addition, certain antimicrobial substances in the environment can kill microorganisms, thus preventing them from interacting with their environment. These can be antibiotic, antifungal, or antiviral.

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