Why is it important to isolate bacteria from the environment?

Isolation of bacteria allows us to study them. So your question is really "Why study bacteria?"


Simple - bacteria (and other microorganisms) control the world. They are major players in biogeochemical cycling of elements such as sulfur, phosphorus, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, iron, etc. They also are primary producers in numerous environments. They can live in most places, except in some extreme environments (extremely salty, hot, high pressure - mainly archaea live here - hydrothermal vents in the deep ocean that can reach 500 degrees C, Yellowstone acid springs, etc). Until the Haber-Bosch process was perfected, bacteria were our main source of organic nitrogen; we used them for fertilizer.


Bacteria also live inside us and other organisms. For example, they contribute to ruminants' digestion of food (cows, horses, etc). They benefit us, too, by digesting some material for which we don't have enzymes, and in return providing us with certain vitamins.


Bacteria can also be our antagonists, and when we isolate them, we can figure out how to counteract their affects. For example, it was found that a certain bacterium species was responsible for a type of stomach ulcer (to prove this, the scientist actually injected himself with the bacterium and then cured his ulcer with antibiotics). Interestingly, it was found via mitochondrial DNA analysis that this bacterium had coevolved with humans, its lineage mirroring the out of Africa hypothesis. Thus, by isolating bacteria, we can figure out more about our own evolution.

Why is it important to isolate bacteria from the environment?
Hi.





I must admit you question is VERY vague. But I think I know what you are asking.





At least I hope.





I'm going to make my answer very specific to medical microbes (the ones that cause disease in humans), but I think my answer will apply to any microbial situation you might be wondering about.





Imagine someone is suffering from a veneral disease that is causing painful urination.





S(he) goes to the doctor because it is too uncomfortable to live with.





The doctor swabs some regions of the area in question and tells the patient "we are going to do a culture for bacteria."





The patient calls the doctor the following day for results.





The doctor says something like this: "OMG we found hundreds of different bacteria where we looked!!!"





The patient says "great, now you know the cause of my grief, give me an antibiotic so I can feel better!"





The doctor says, "well, this is a problem, because I found so many bacteria, I don't know which one is really causing you trouble."





The truth is the patient does have hundreds of bacteria living just within that particular area.





Our WHOLE bodies are hosts to hundreds (surely even thousands) of different bacteria.





Our bodies are an environment unto themselves, as we have a special pH, temperature, chemical composition, etc,





Some bacteria thrive on Humans.





(BTW, there are a gazillion bacterial species on planet earth, but only some of them are specialized enough to live on Humans).





Almost all the ones living on/in Humans are doing good for your bodies, or at least they are not causing any harm.





Only a few bacteria who live on us are pathogenic (disease causing). You and I know they are present because we feel sick when they arrive.





To isolate the few pathogenic bacteria from the thousands of other beneficial bacteria is not an easy task.





But as science creeps forward, scientist and doctors are becoming better equipped at isolating (identifying) the pathogenic bacteria from all the other "normal" bacteria.





When I feel sick and go to the doctor for a diagnosis and treatment, I ALWAYS ask what the bacteria's specific name is and how s(he) isolated it.





If s(he) can't answer these questions, I get a second opinion!





In short, bacteria are everywhere... But when you are seeking out ONE in particular, you have to isolate it from the countless millions of other ones.





Classical isolation methods are based on chemical analysis, where scientists grow bacteria out on nutrient plates to differentiate the harmless from the harmful. This has been used for years.





More modern isolation techniques employ DNA analysis. Using this methodology, scientists discovered that e.coli, for instance, comes in many pathogenic flavors.





But DNA analysis is more specialized for research purposes, and not for clinical analysis.





So far, the future will be surely combine both techniques, and more are being worked out.





I really hoped I helped answer your question.





Pass on your good karma!

frangipni