Patent ID: 7494810

Claim:
A method of accessing bacterial diversity wherein the method comprises: a) obtaining an environmental sample comprising at least one novel (uncultivated in the laboratory) bacterium, wherein said environmental sample is selected from the group consisting of a body of water, a soil sample, a sample taken from a geological formation, a sample taken from an environment exposed to extreme temperature or pressure, and a plant component, b) contacting the environmental sample with an effective amount of an agent selected from the group consisting of an esterase, a lipase, a protease, and any combination thereof, wherein said agent interferes with, disrupts, removes, or disenables Type 1 quorum sensing in the environmental sample, c) growing the treated sample in a culture medium containing said agent, d) isolating colonies of bacteria grown in step (c); and e) analyzing the colonies of bacteria and identifying genetic novelty minimally at the species or subspecies level.