Polyploidy is the rule, not the exception, in the bacterial world

Question: Is harbouring multiple chromosome copies (being polyploid) a common phenomenon in Bacteria and does that pose a problem for standard methods in microbial community analysis that conventionally assume one chromosome per cell? 

Result: A culture-independent method is developed that considers cellular ploidy at single-cell resolution when evaluating community structure of natural samples. 

Impact: Potential transformative change for most disciplines within bacteriology.