Characterization of bacteria with carbohydrase activities from tropical ecosystems

Author(s):  
O. Tirado ◽  
W. Rosado ◽  
N.S. Govind

Several bacteria have been isolated from different tropical ecosystems (tropical rain forest, seawater, and marine sediments) from the island of Puerto Rico. These microorganisms were screened for carbohydrase activity using chromogenic substrates (amylose, pullulan, cellulose, dextran, arabinan, galactomannan, and xylan). The results indicate that 2–9% of cultured organisms show carbohydrase activity. Isolates were identified by partial sequence analysis of the polymerase chain reaction amplified small subunit rRNA gene. GenBank database comparison of the most versatile strains gave a match with Bacillus sp., Staphylococcus sp., Halomonas sp., and a gamma proteobacterium. Growth curves indicate that all strains assayed can grow as well in at least one complex carbohydrate as in glucose. A high β-xylosidase activity was detected in the Bacillus sp. strain crude enzyme preparation and this activity seems to be almost entirely cell associated. Our results show that tropical environments can be potentially good sources of bacteria with novel carbohydrases.

1996 ◽  
Vol 74 (5) ◽  
pp. 694-707 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. W. Saunders ◽  
G. T. Kraft

Nucleotide sequences of the nuclear, small-subunit ribosomal RNAs, as inferred from polymerase chain reaction amplified products, are introduced for representatives of the Dumontiaceae, Endocladiaceae, Halymeniaceae, and Kallymeniaceae of the order Cryptonemiales sensu Kylin, the Mychodeaceae, Phyllophoraceae, Schizymeniaceae, and Sebdeniaceae of the order Gigartinales sensu Kylin, and the Lomentariaceae and Rhodymeniaceae of the order Rhodymeniales. The new sequences are included in phylogenetic analyses incorporating previously published sequences from additional families of the orders Ahnfeltiales, Ceramiales, Gigartinales, Gracilariales, Palmariales, Plocamiales, and Rhodymeniales. We used the molecular data to test the validity of the taxonomic merger of the orders Gigartinales and Cryptonemiales that was proposed by G.T. Kraft and P.A. Robins in 1985. With only two exceptions (the families Halymeniaceae and Sebdeniaceae), phylogenetic analyses of the SSU data support a monophyletic origin for a combined Gigartinales–Cryptonemiales. We therefore propose the resurrection of a redefined Cryptonemiales to consist, at this time, of only the Halymeniaceae and Sebdeniaceae. Because virtually no elements of the original or recent definitions of the Cryptonemiales survive in the characterization of this taxon, we followed procedures allowed by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature to designate it the Halymeniales ord.nov. Analysis of molecular data further indicates that the Rhodymeniales is a monophyletic assemblage distinct from both the Gigartinales and Halymeniales; it should not be merged with the Gigartinales as is occasionally suggested. Keywords: Cryptonemiales, Gigartinales, Halymeniaceae, Halymeniales, phylogeny, Rhodophyta, Sebdeniaceae, small-subunit rRNA, systematics.


1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (9) ◽  
pp. 1250-1263 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. W. Saunders ◽  
G. T. Kraft

Nucleotide sequences of the nuclear, small-subunit (SSU) ribosomal RNAs, as inferred from polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-amplified products, are presented for Areschougia congesta (Turner) J. Agardh (Solieriaceae), Dasyphloea insignis Montagne (Dumontiaceae), Sarcothalia crassifolia (C. Agardh) Edyvane & Womersley (Gigartinaceae), Nizymenia australis Sonder (Nizymeniaceae), Phacelocarpus peperocarpos (Poiret) Wynne, Ardré & Silva (Phacelocarpaceae), Plocamiocolax pulvinata Setchell, Plocamium angustum (J. Agardh) J.D. Hooker, Plocamium cartilagineum (Linnaeus) Dixon (Plocamiaceae), Rhodymenia linearis J. Agardh (Rhodymeniaceae), and Sphaerococcus coronopifolius Stackhouse (Sphaerococcaceae). Phylogenetic analyses of the SSU sequences between the Plocamiaceae and members of the Sphaerococcaceae, Phacelocarpaceae, and Nizymeniaceae, with which the Plocamiaceae has been associated historically, show SSU differences of between 87 and 105 nucleotides and do not indicate a close relationship. A review of anatomical knowledge of the Plocamiaceae and Pseudoanemoniaceae and new information on vegetative and tetrasporangial development in Plocamium and Plocamiocolax are presented to buttress a case for the Plocamiales ord.nov. Representatives of the Nizymeniaceae and Phacelocarpaceae differ from one another by only nine nucleotides, suggesting that these two taxa are very closely related and perhaps not distinct at the family rank. Key words: Gigartinales, PCR, phylogeny, Plocamiales ord.nov., Pseudoanemoniaceae, Rhodophyta, small-subunit rRNA, systematics.


2011 ◽  
Vol 61 (7) ◽  
pp. 1740-1750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yangang Wang ◽  
Xiaozhong Hu ◽  
Jie Huang ◽  
Khaled A. S. Al-Rasheid ◽  
Alan Warren

Two marine stichotrich ciliates, Metaurostylopsis flavicana spec. nov. and Tunicothrix wilberti (Lin & Song, 2004) Xu et al., 2006, isolated from the Shenzhen Mangrove Protection Area on the coast of the South China Sea, were investigated using live observation and protargol impregnation techniques. Metaurostylopsis flavicana is characterized by its elongate body shape, yellowish body colour and bright-yellow cortical granules that are either grouped around the cirri and the dorsal cilia or aligned between the rows of cirri and dorsal cilia. It has four to eight frontal, two frontoterminal, one buccal and seven to ten transverse cirri, a mid-ventral complex comprising 13–17 midventral cirral pairs in a row that extends about three-fifths of the body length, four left and three right marginal rows and three complete dorsal kineties. The small subunit rRNA gene of this species was sequenced and phylogenetic trees were constructed in which M. flavicana does not group with its congeners, suggesting that the genus Metaurostylopsis is paraphyletic. Some supplementary morphological and morphogenetic traits for Tunicothrix wilberti are also documented.


1996 ◽  
Vol 42 (12) ◽  
pp. 1248-1251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noriko Kikuta ◽  
Ayako Yamamoto ◽  
Nobuichi Goto

A pair of oligonucleotide primers were designed from the nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SrRNA) of the oral protozoan parasite Entamoeba gingivalis. The primers amplified a 1.4-kb DNA fragment by polymerase chain reaction and were specific for Entamoeba gingivalis but not for other protozoa, oral protists and bacteria, or human leukocytes. With this method, the DNA from as few as 30 cells of Entamoeba gingivalis could be detected. These results suggest that this approach is applicable to the detection and identification of Entamoeba gingivalis in the human oral cavity.Key words: Entamoeba gingivalis, small subunit rRNA, polymerase chain reaction, diagnostics.


Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 775
Author(s):  
Doaa Naguib ◽  
Dawn M. Roellig ◽  
Nagah Arafat ◽  
Lihua Xiao

Rabbits are increasingly farmed in Egypt for meat. They are, however, known reservoirs of infectious pathogens. Currently, no information is available on the genetic characteristics of Cryptosporidium spp. in rabbits in Egypt. To understand the prevalence and genetic identity of Cryptosporidium spp. in these animals, 235 fecal samples were collected from rabbits of different ages on nine farms in El-Dakahlia, El-Gharbia, and Damietta Provinces, Egypt during the period from July 2015 to April 2016. PCR-RFLP analysis of the small subunit rRNA gene was used to detect and genotype Cryptosporidium spp. The overall detection rate was 11.9% (28/235). All 28 samples were identified as Cryptosporidium cuniculus. The 16 samples successfully subtyped by the sequence analysis of the partial 60 kDa glycoprotein gene belonged to two subtypes, VbA19 (n = 1) and VbA33 (n = 15). As C. cuniculus is increasingly recognized as a cause of human cryptosporidiosis, Cryptosporidium spp. in rabbits from Egypt have zoonotic potential.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Abdul Ghafar ◽  
Anson V. Koehler ◽  
Ross S. Hall ◽  
Charles G. Gauci ◽  
Robin B. Gasser ◽  
...  

Protists of the genera Babesia and Theileria (piroplasms) cause some of the most prevalent and debilitating diseases for bovines worldwide. In this study, we established and used a next-generation sequencing-informatic approach to explore the composition of Babesia and Theileria populations in cattle and water buffalo in a country (Pakistan) endemic for these pathogens. We collected individual blood samples from cattle (n = 212) and water buffalo (n = 154), extracted genomic DNAs, PCR-amplified the V4 hypervariable region of 18S small subunit rRNA gene from piroplasms, sequenced amplicons using Illumina technology, and then analysed data using bioinformatic platforms. The results revealed piroplasms in 68.9% (252/366) samples, with overall occurrence being markedly higher in cattle (85.8%) than in water buffaloes (45.5%). Babesia (B.) occultans and Theileria (T.) lestoquardi-like species were recorded for the first time in Pakistan, and, overall, T. annulata was most commonly detected (65.8%) followed by B. bovis (7.1%), B. bigemina (4.4%), and T. orientalis (0.5%), with the genetic variability within B. bovis being pronounced. The occurrence and composition of piroplasm species varied markedly across different agro-ecological zones. The high detection of T. annulata in asymptomatic animals suggested a relatively high level of endemic stability of tropical theileriosis in the bovine population.


2006 ◽  
Vol 72 (10) ◽  
pp. 6452-6460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul J. Hunter ◽  
Geoff M. Petch ◽  
Leo A. Calvo-Bado ◽  
Tim R. Pettitt ◽  
Nick R. Parsons ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The microbiological characteristics associated with disease-suppressive peats are unclear. We used a bioassay for Pythium sylvaticum-induced damping-off of cress seedlings to identify conducive and suppressive peats. Microbial activity in unconditioned peats was negatively correlated with the counts of P. sylvaticum at the end of the bioassay. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) profiling and clone library analyses of small-subunit rRNA gene sequences from two suppressive and two conducive peats differed in the bacterial profiles generated and the diversity of sequence populations. There were also significant differences between bacterial sequence populations from suppressive and conducive peats. The frequencies of a number of microbial groups, including the Rhizobium-Agrobacterium group (specifically sequences similar to those for the genera Ochrobactrum and Zoogloea) and the Acidobacteria, increased specifically in the suppressive peats, although no single bacterial group was associated with disease suppression. Fungal DGGE profiles varied little over the course of the bioassay; however, two bands associated specifically with suppressive samples were detected. Sequences from these bands corresponded to Basidiomycete yeast genera. Although the DGGE profiles were similar, fungal sequence diversity also increased during the bioassay. Sequences highly similar to those of Cryptococcus increased in relative abundance during the bioassay, particularly in the suppressive samples. This study highlights the importance of using complementary approaches to molecular profiling of complex populations and provides the first report that basidiomycetous yeasts may be associated with the suppression of Pythium-induced diseases in peats.


Parasitology ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 135 (6) ◽  
pp. 691-699 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. SAITO-ITO ◽  
N. TAKADA ◽  
F. ISHIGURO ◽  
H. FUJITA ◽  
Y. YANO ◽  
...  

SUMMARYField rodent surveys forBabesiainfection were performed from 2002 to 2005 in the vicinities of human babesiosis occurrences in Taiwan and mainland China.Babesia microtiwas identified by microscopical examination and/or PCR in 1Rattus coxingaand 1Crocidura horsfieldiiin central Taiwan and in 13Niviventer confucianusand 1Apodemus agrariusin Zhejiang and Fujian Provinces of southeastern China. Of 15B. microtisamples detected by PCR, all except 1 were shown to be the Kobe-type, the aetiological small subunit rRNA gene-type of the first Japanese patient; the exception was also a Kobe-related type. The Kobe-type had been found in rodents only in a few places including the human infection occurrence place in Japan. The internal transcribed spacer 1 to 2 sequences of the Taiwanese and Chinese Kobe-types were very similar to each other but considerably different (approx. 94% pairwise identities) from that of the Japanese Kobe-type. A Taiwanese Kobe-type strain was serologically differentiated from the Kobe strain originating from the Japanese first patient. The distribution of the Kobe-type in the vicinities of human babesiosis occurrences in Taiwan and China as well as in Japan is suggestive of involvement of the Kobe-type in Asian human babesiosis.


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