Statistical analysis of data from BIOLOG method in the study of microbial ecology
微生物生态研究中基于BIOLOG方法的数据分析

The BIOLOG method has been widely used to study microbial community dynamics and has proved to be a useful tool in the research of microbial ecology. As a quick and convenient method, it can provide a great amount of data which reflect community-level physiological profiling of microbial communities. However, the analysis and interpretation of these multivariate data has turned out to be one of the intractable challenges in studies. This work included different methods previously applied in BIOLOG analysis and clarified the purposes and functions of these statistical methods. AWCD (Average well color development) value, diversity indices, PCA (principal component analysis), cluster analysis, correlation analysis and regression analysis were discussed according to their purposes, along with common mistakes and abuses. We also involved a Non-Parametric version of MANOVA, catabolic profiles methods, canonical correspondence analysis and multiple regression tree analysis as extensions. This work will help the application of the BIOLOG method and improve understanding of the functions of microorganisms in ecosystems.