From Petri Dishes to Model Ecosystems

Oskar Siemianowski; Kara R Lind; Xinchun Tian; Matt Cain; Songzhe Xu; Baskar Ganapathysubramanian; Ludovico Cademartiri

doi:10.1016/j.tplants.2018.03.006

From Petri Dishes to Model Ecosystems

Trends Plant Sci. 2018 May;23(5):378-381. doi: 10.1016/j.tplants.2018.03.006. Epub 2018 Apr 2.

Authors

Oskar Siemianowski¹, Kara R Lind¹, Xinchun Tian², Matt Cain², Songzhe Xu³, Baskar Ganapathysubramanian³, Ludovico Cademartiri⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Iowa State University of Science and Technology, 2220 Hoover Hall, Ames, IA 50011, USA; These authors contributed equally to this work.
² Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Iowa State University of Science and Technology, 2220 Hoover Hall, Ames, IA 50011, USA.
³ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Iowa State University of Science and Technology, 2025 Black Engineering, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA.
⁴ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Iowa State University of Science and Technology, 2220 Hoover Hall, Ames, IA 50011, USA; Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Sweeney Hall, Ames, IA 50011, USA; Ames Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, 311 Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA. Electronic address: lcademar@iastate.edu.

PMID: 29622395
DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2018.03.006

Abstract

Model ecosystems could provide significant insight into the evolution and behavior of real ecosystems. We discuss the advantages and limitations of common approaches like mesocosms. In this context, we highlight recent breakthroughs that allow for the creation of networks of organisms with independently controlled environments and rates of chemical exchange.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Biotechnology / instrumentation
Biotechnology / methods*
Ecosystem*
Environment
Models, Biological
Plant Development*
Plants / metabolism*
Research Design
Tissue Culture Techniques / instrumentation
Tissue Culture Techniques / methods*