scholarly journals Origin and Diversity of Metabolically Active Gut Bacteria from Laboratory-Bred Larvae of Manduca sexta (Sphingidae, Lepidoptera, Insecta)

2008 ◽  
Vol 74 (23) ◽  
pp. 7189-7196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Brinkmann ◽  
Rainer Martens ◽  
Christoph C. Tebbe

ABSTRACT Cultivation-independent analyses based on genetic profiling of partial bacterial 16S rRNA genes by PCR-single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP), reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR-SSCP of the 16S rRNA itself, and stable isotope probing (SIP), followed by RT-PCR-SSCP, were applied to characterize the diversity of metabolically active bacteria in the larval gut of Manduca sexta bred on tobacco leaves under greenhouse conditions. For SIP, hatching larvae were fed with leaves from tobacco plants grown in a 13CO2-enriched atmosphere. Dominant SSCP bands were sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed. Only one major gut colonizer, an Enterococcus relative, was detected; it occurred in the heavy RNA fraction, demonstrating its metabolic activity, and it originated from eggs, where its metabolic activity was also indicated by rRNA-based SSCP profiles. In contrast, a Citrobacter sedlakii relative was detected on eggs by DNA-SSCP, but rRNA-SSCP and SIP-rRNA-SSCP were negative, suggesting that these bacterial cells were inactive. A Burkholderia relative was dominant and metabolically active on the tobacco leaves but inactive inside the gut, where it was also quantitatively reduced, as suggested by lower band intensities in the DNA-based SSCP profiles. SIP-RNA-SSCP detected another metabolically active gut bacterium (Enterobacter sp.) and more bacteria in the light RNA fraction, indicating low or no metabolic activity of the latter inside the gut. We conclude that the larval gut supported only a low diversity of metabolically active bacteria.

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Ruiz-Lopez ◽  
Lynn Foster ◽  
Chris Boothman ◽  
Nick Cole ◽  
Katherine Morris ◽  
...  

The use of nuclear power has been a significant part of the United Kingdom’s energy portfolio with the Sellafield site being used for power production and more recently reprocessing and decommissioning of spent nuclear fuel activities. Before being reprocessed, spent nuclear fuel is stored in water ponds with significant levels of background radioactivity and in high alkalinity (to minimize fuel corrosion). Despite these challenging conditions, the presence of microbial communities has been detected. To gain further insight into the microbial communities present in extreme environments, an indoor, hyper-alkaline, oligotrophic, and radioactive spent fuel storage pond (INP) located on the Sellafield site was analyzed. Water samples were collected from sample points within the INP complex, and also the purge water feeding tank (FT) that supplies water to the pond, and were screened for the presence of the 16S and 18S rRNA genes to inform sequencing requirements over a period of 30 months. Only 16S rRNA genes were successfully amplified for sequencing, suggesting that the microbial communities in the INP were dominated by prokaryotes. Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) analysis targeting 16S rRNA genes suggested that bacterial cells in the order of 104–106 mL–1 were present in the samples, with loadings rising with time. Next generation Illumina MiSeq sequencing was performed to identify the dominant microorganisms at eight sampling times. The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis suggested that 70% and 91% from of the OTUs samples, from the FT and INP respectively, belonged to the phylum Proteobacteria, mainly from the alpha and beta subclasses. The remaining OTUs were assigned primarily to the phyla Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and, Cyanobacteria. Overall the most abundant genera identified were Hydrogenophaga, Curvibacter, Porphyrobacter, Rhodoferax, Polaromonas, Sediminibacterium, Roseococcus, and Sphingomonas. The presence of organisms most closely related to Hydrogenophaga species in the INP areas, suggests the metabolism of hydrogen as an energy source, most likely linked to hydrolysis of water caused by the stored fuel. Isolation of axenic cultures using a range of minimal and rich media was also attempted, but only relatively minor components (from the phylum Bacteroidetes) of the pond water communities were obtained, emphasizing the importance of DNA-based, not culture-dependent techniques, for assessing the microbiome of nuclear facilities.


2006 ◽  
Vol 55 (9) ◽  
pp. 1271-1275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrej Trampuz ◽  
Kerryl E. Piper ◽  
James M. Steckelberg ◽  
Robin Patel

Gamma irradiation is widely used for sterilization; however, its effect on elimination of amplifiable DNA, an issue of relevance to molecular diagnostic approaches, has not been well studied. The effect of gamma irradiation on the viability of Staphylococcus epidermidis and Escherichia coli (using quantitative cultures) and on their DNA (using quantitative 16S rRNA gene PCR) was evaluated. Viability was abrogated at 2.8 and 3.6 kGy for S. epidermidis and E. coli, respectively. The radiation dose required to reduce viable bacteria by one log10 (D 10 value) was 0.31 and 0.35 kGy for S. epidermidis and E. coli, respectively. D 10 values for amplifiable DNA extracted from bacteria were 2.58 and 3.09 kGy for S. epidermidis and E. coli, respectively, whereas D 10 values for amplifiable DNA were significantly higher for DNA extracted from irradiated viable bacterial cells (22.9 and 52.6 kGy for S. epidermidis and E. coli, respectively; P<0.001). This study showed that gamma irradiation of DNA in viable bacterial cells has little effect on amplifiable DNA, was not able to eliminate amplifiable 16S rRNA genes at a dose of up to 12 kGy and cannot therefore be used for elimination of DNA contamination of PCR reaction components or laboratory equipment when this DNA is present in microbial cells. This finding has practical implications for those using molecular diagnostic techniques in microbiology.


2013 ◽  
Vol 80 (5) ◽  
pp. 1684-1691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baozhan Wang ◽  
Yan Zheng ◽  
Rong Huang ◽  
Xue Zhou ◽  
Dongmei Wang ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTAll cultivated ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) within theNitrososphaeracluster (former soil group 1.1b) are neutrophilic. Molecular surveys also indicate the existence ofNitrososphaera-like phylotypes in acidic soil, but their ecological roles are poorly understood. In this study, we present molecular evidence for the chemolithoautotrophic growth ofNitrososphaera-like AOA in an acidic soil with pH 4.92 using DNA-based stable isotope probing (SIP). Soil microcosm incubations demonstrated that nitrification was stimulated by urea fertilization and accompanied by a significant increase in the abundance of AOA rather than ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). Real-time PCR analysis ofamoAgenes as a function of the buoyant density of the DNA gradient following the ultracentrifugation of the total DNA extracted from SIP microcosms indicated a substantial growth of soil AOA during nitrification. Pyrosequencing of the total 16S rRNA genes in the “heavy” DNA fractions suggested that archaeal communities were labeled to a much greater extent than soil AOB. Acetylene inhibition further showed that13CO2assimilation by nitrifying communities depended solely on ammonia oxidation activity, suggesting a chemolithoautotrophic lifestyle. Phylogenetic analysis of both13C-labeledamoAand 16S rRNA genes revealed that most of the active AOA were phylogenetically closely related to the neutrophilic strainsNitrososphaera viennensisEN76 and JG1 within theNitrososphaeracluster. Our results provide strong evidence for the adaptive growth ofNitrososphaera-like AOA in acidic soil, suggesting a greater metabolic versatility of soil AOA than previously appreciated.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1764-1770
Author(s):  
Jorge Miranda ◽  
Lina Violet-Lozano ◽  
Samia Barrera ◽  
Salim Mattar ◽  
Santiago Monsalve-Buriticá ◽  
...  

Background and Aim: Wildlife animals are reservoirs of a large number of microorganisms pathogenic to humans, and ticks could be responsible for the transmission of these pathogens. Rickettsia spp. are the most prevalent pathogens found in ticks. This study was conducted to detect Rickettsia spp. in ticks collected from free-living and illegally trafficked reptiles from the Department of Córdoba, Colombia. Materials and Methods: During the period from October 2011 to July 2014, ticks belonging to the family Ixodidae were collected, preserved in 96% ethanol, identified using taxonomic keys, and pooled (between 1 and 14 ticks) according to sex, stage, host, and collected place for subsequent DNA extraction. Rickettsia detection was performed using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), followed by conventional PCR to amplify a larger fragment of the gltA and 16S rRNA genes. The amplicons were sequenced using the Sanger method, and the nucleotide sequences were subjected to BLAST analysis to identify homologous sequences in GenBank, after which phylogenetic analysis was performed using the MEGA X software. Results: In total, 21 specimens of nine species of reptiles were sampled, from which 805 Amblyomma dissimile ticks were collected, but only 180 ticks were selected to create 34 groups. The DNA of Rickettsia spp. was detected in 30/34 (88%) groups. The sequences of the gene gltA and 16S rRNA revealed a 100% identity with Candidatus Rickettsia colombianensi (GenBank: KF905456 and GenBank: KF691750). Conclusion: A. dissimile was the only tick found in all the sampled reptiles. The presence of Candidatus Rickettsia colombianensi in reptile ticks could represent a public health problem due to the risk of transmission to humans and the introduction of microorganisms to other geographical areas.


2015 ◽  
Vol 81 (14) ◽  
pp. 4607-4615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoqing Wang ◽  
Christine E. Sharp ◽  
Gareth M. Jones ◽  
Stephen E. Grasby ◽  
Allyson L. Brady ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe exopolysaccharides (EPSs) produced by some bacteria are potential growth substrates for other bacteria in soil. We used stable-isotope probing (SIP) to identify aerobic soil bacteria that assimilated the cellulose produced byGluconacetobacter xylinusor the EPS produced byBeijerinckia indica. The latter is a heteropolysaccharide comprised primarily ofl-guluronic acid,d-glucose, andd-glycero-d-mannoheptose.13C-labeled EPS and13C-labeled cellulose were purified from bacterial cultures grown on [13C]glucose. Two soils were incubated with these substrates, and bacteria actively assimilating them were identified via pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes recovered from13C-labeled DNA. Cellulose C was assimilated primarily by soil bacteria closely related (93 to 100% 16S rRNA gene sequence identities) to known cellulose-degrading bacteria. However,B. indicaEPS was assimilated primarily by bacteria with low identities (80 to 95%) to known species, particularly by different members of the phylumPlanctomycetes. In one incubation, members of thePlanctomycetesmade up >60% of all reads in the labeled DNA and were only distantly related (<85% identity) to any described species. Although it is impossible with SIP to completely distinguish primary polysaccharide hydrolyzers from bacteria growing on produced oligo- or monosaccharides, the predominance ofPlanctomycetessuggested that they were primary degraders of EPS. Other bacteria assimilatingB. indicaEPS included members of theVerrucomicrobia, candidate division OD1, and theArmatimonadetes. The results indicate that some uncultured bacteria in soils may be adapted to using complex heteropolysaccharides for growth and suggest that the use of these substrates may provide a means for culturing new species.


2019 ◽  
Vol 96 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Preshita S Gadkari ◽  
Lora R McGuinness ◽  
Minna K Männistö ◽  
Lee J Kerkhof ◽  
Max M Häggblom

ABSTRACT Arctic soils store vast amounts of carbon and are subject to intense climate change. While the effects of thaw on the composition and activities of Arctic tundra microorganisms has been examined extensively, little is known about the consequences of temperature fluctuations within the subzero range in seasonally frozen or permafrost soils. This study identified tundra soil bacteria active at subzero temperatures using stable isotope probing (SIP). Soils from Kilpisjärvi, Finland, were amended with 13C-cellobiose and incubated at 0, −4 and −16°C for up to 40 weeks. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis of 13C-labelled DNA revealed distinct subzero-active bacterial taxa. The SIP experiments demonstrated that diverse bacteria, including members of Candidatus Saccharibacteria, Melioribacteraceae, Verrucomicrobiaceae, Burkholderiaceae, Acetobacteraceae, Armatimonadaceae and Planctomycetaceae, were capable of synthesising 13C-DNA at subzero temperatures. Differences in subzero temperature optima were observed, for example, with members of Oxalobacteraceae and Rhizobiaceae found to be more active at 0°C than at −4°C or −16°C, whereas Melioribacteriaceae were active at all subzero temperatures tested. Phylogeny of 13C-labelled 16S rRNA genes from the Melioribacteriaceae, Verrucomicrobiaceae and Candidatus Saccharibacteria suggested that these taxa formed subzero-active clusters closely related to members from other cryo-environments. This study demonstrates that subzero temperatures impact active bacterial community composition and activity, which may influence biogeochemical cycles.


2002 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 1882-1892 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cinzia L. Randazzo ◽  
Sandra Torriani ◽  
Antoon D. L. Akkermans ◽  
Willem M. de Vos ◽  
Elaine E. Vaughan

ABSTRACT The diversity and dynamics of the microbial communities during the manufacturing of Ragusano cheese, an artisanal cheese produced in Sicily (Italy), were investigated by a combination of classical and culture-independent approaches. The latter included PCR, reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR), and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of 16S rRNA genes (rDNA). Bacterial and Lactobacillus group-specific primers were used to amplify the V6 to V8 and V1 to V3 regions of the 16S rRNA gene, respectively. DGGE profiles from samples taken during cheese production indicated dramatic shifts in the microbial community structure. Cloning and sequencing of rDNA amplicons revealed that mesophilic lactic acid bacteria (LAB), including species of Leuconostoc, Lactococcus lactis, and Macrococcus caseolyticus were dominant in the raw milk, while Streptococcus thermophilus prevailed during lactic fermentation. Other thermophilic LAB, especially Lactobacillus delbrueckii and Lactobacillus fermentum, also flourished during ripening. Comparison of the rRNA-derived patterns obtained by RT-PCR to the rDNA DGGE patterns indicated a substantially different degree of metabolic activity for the microbial groups detected. Identification of cultivated LAB isolates by phenotypic characterization and 16S rDNA analysis indicated a variety of species, reflecting to a large extent the results obtained from the 16S rDNA clone libraries, with the significant exception of the Lactobacillus delbrueckii species, which dominated in the ripening cheese but was not detected by cultivation. The present molecular approaches combined with culture can effectively describe the complex ecosystem of natural fermented dairy products, giving useful information for starter culture design and preservation of artisanal fermented food technology.


2014 ◽  
Vol 80 (7) ◽  
pp. 2240-2247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald W. Tannock ◽  
Blair Lawley ◽  
Karen Munro ◽  
Ian M. Sims ◽  
Julian Lee ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTKnowledge of the trophisms that underpin bowel microbiota composition is required in order to understand its complex phylogeny and function. Stable-isotope (13C)-labeled inulin was added to the diet of rats on a single occasion in order to detect utilization of inulin-derived substrates by particular members of the cecal microbiota. Cecal digesta from Fibruline-inulin-fed rats was collected prior to (0 h) and at 6, 12, 18 and 24 h following provision of the [13C]inulin diet. RNA was extracted from these cecal specimens and fractionated in isopycnic buoyant density gradients in order to detect13C-labeled nucleic acid originating in bacterial cells that had metabolized the labeled dietary constituent. RNA extracted from specimens collected after provision of the labeled diet was more dense than 0-h RNA. Sequencing of 16S rRNA genes amplified from cDNA obtained from these fractions showed thatBacteroides uniformis,Blautia glucerasea,Clostridium indolis, andBifidobacterium animaliswere the main users of the13C-labeled substrate. Culture-based studies of strains of these bacterial species enabled trophisms associated with inulin and its hydrolysis products to be identified.B. uniformisutilized Fibruline-inulin for growth, whereas the other species used fructo-oligosaccharide and monosaccharides. Thus, RNA–stable-isotope probing (RNA-SIP) provided new information about the use of carbon from inulin in microbiota metabolism.


2010 ◽  
Vol 76 (8) ◽  
pp. 2468-2477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Tourna ◽  
Thomas E. Freitag ◽  
James I. Prosser

ABSTRACT The response of natural microbial communities to environmental change can be assessed by determining DNA- or RNA-targeted changes in relative abundance of 16S rRNA gene sequences by using fingerprinting techniques such as denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DNA-DGGE and RNA-DGGE, respectively) or by stable isotope probing (SIP) of 16S rRNA genes following incubation with a 13C-labeled substrate (DNA-SIP-DGGE). The sensitivities of these three approaches were compared during batch growth of communities containing two or three Nitrosospira pure or enriched cultures with different tolerances to a high ammonia concentration. Cultures were supplied with low, intermediate, or high initial ammonia concentrations and with 13C-labeled carbon dioxide. DNA-SIP-DGGE provided the most direct evidence for growth and was the most sensitive, with changes in DGGE profiles evident before changes in DNA- and RNA-DGGE profiles and before detectable increases in nitrite and nitrate production. RNA-DGGE provided intermediate sensitivity. In addition, the three molecular methods were used to follow growth of individual strains within communities. In general, changes in relative activities of individual strains within communities could be predicted from monoculture growth characteristics. Ammonia-tolerant Nitrosospira cluster 3b strains dominated mixed communities at all ammonia concentrations, and ammonia-sensitive strains were outcompeted at an intermediate ammonia concentration. However, coexistence of ammonia-tolerant and ammonia-sensitive strains occurred at the lowest ammonia concentration, and, under some conditions, strains inhibited at high ammonia in monoculture were active at high ammonia in mixed cultures, where they coexisted with ammonia-tolerant strains. The results therefore demonstrate the sensitivity of SIP for detection of activity of organisms with relatively low yield and low activity and its ability to follow changes in the structure of interacting microbial communities.


2008 ◽  
Vol 74 (13) ◽  
pp. 4111-4118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham M. Pumphrey ◽  
Eugene L. Madsen

ABSTRACT We used a combination of stable isotope probing (SIP), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-based respiration, isolation/cultivation, and quantitative PCR procedures to discover the identity and in situ growth of soil microorganisms that metabolize benzoic acid. We added [13C]benzoic acid or [12C]benzoic acid (100 μg) once, four times, or five times at 2-day intervals to agricultural field plots. After monitoring 13CO2 evolution from the benzoic acid-dosed soil, field soils were harvested and used for nucleic acid extraction and for cultivation of benzoate-degrading bacteria. Exposure of soil to benzoate increased the number of culturable benzoate degraders compared to unamended soil, and exposure to benzoate shifted the dominant culturable benzoate degraders from Pseudomonas species to Burkholderia species. Isopycnic separation of heavy [13C]DNA from the unlabeled fraction allowed terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analyses to confirm that distinct 16S rRNA genes were localized in the heavy fraction. Phylogenetic analysis of sequenced 16S rRNA genes revealed a predominance (15 of 58 clones) of Burkholderia species in the heavy fraction. Burkholderia sp. strain EBA09 shared 99.5% 16S rRNA sequence similarity with a group of clones representing the dominant RFLP pattern, and the T-RFLP fragment for strain EBA09 and a clone from that cluster matched the fragment enriched in the [13C]DNA fraction. Growth of the population represented by EBA09 during the field-dosing experiment was demonstrated by using most-probable-number-PCR and primers targeting EBA09 and the closely related species Burkholderia hospita. Thus, the target population identified by SIP not only actively metabolized benzoic acid but reproduced in the field upon the addition of the substrate.


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