scholarly journals Culture-Independent Analysis of Bacterial Fuel Contamination Provides Insight into the Level of Concordance with the Standard Industry Practice of Aerobic Cultivation

2011 ◽  
Vol 77 (13) ◽  
pp. 4527-4538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith White ◽  
Jack Gilbert ◽  
Graham Hill ◽  
Edward Hill ◽  
Susan M. Huse ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBacterial diversity in contaminated fuels has not been systematically investigated using cultivation-independent methods. The fuel industry relies on phenotypic cultivation-based contaminant identification, which may lack accuracy and neglect difficult-to-culture taxa. By the use of industry practice aerobic cultivation, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and strain genotyping, a collection of 152 unique contaminant isolates from 54 fuel samples was assembled, and a dominance ofPseudomonas(21%),Burkholderia(7%), andBacillus(7%) was demonstrated. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of 15 samples revealedProteobacteriaandFirmicutesto be the most abundant phyla. When 16S rRNA V6 gene pyrosequencing of four selected fuel samples (indicated by “JW”) was performed,Betaproteobacteria(42.8%) andGammaproteobacteria(30.6%) formed the largest proportion of reads; the most abundant genera wereMarinobacter(15.4%; JW57),Achromobacter(41.6%; JW63),Burkholderia(80.7%; JW76), andHalomonas(66.2%; JW78), all of which were also observed by DGGE. However, theClostridia(38.5%) andDeltaproteobacteria(11.1%) identified by pyrosequencing in sample JW57 were not observed by DGGE or aerobic culture. Genotyping revealed three instances where identical strains were found: (i) aPseudomonassp. strain recovered from 2 different diesel fuel tanks at a single industrial site; (ii) aMangroveibactersp. strain isolated from 3 biodiesel tanks at a single refinery site; and (iii) aBurkholderiavietnamiensisstrain present in two unrelated automotive diesel samples. Overall, aerobic cultivation of fuel contaminants recovered isolates broadly representative of the phyla and classes present but lacked accuracy by overrepresenting members of certain groups such asPseudomonas.

2012 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 263-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna M. Kielak ◽  
Mariana Silvia Cretoiu ◽  
Alexander V. Semenov ◽  
Søren J. Sørensen ◽  
Jan Dirk van Elsas

ABSTRACTChitin amendment is a promising soil management strategy that may enhance the suppressiveness of soil toward plant pathogens. However, we understand very little of the effects of added chitin, including the putative successions that take place in the degradative process. We performed an experiment in moderately acid soil in which the level of chitin, next to the pH, was altered. Examination of chitinase activities revealed fast responses to the added crude chitin, with peaks of enzymatic activity occurring on day 7. PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE)-based analyses of 16S rRNA andchiAgenes showed structural changes of the phylogenetically and functionally based bacterial communities following chitin addition and pH alteration. Pyrosequencing analysis indicated (i) that the diversity ofchiAgene types in soil is enormous and (i) that differentchiAgene types are selected by the addition of chitin at different prevailing soil pH values. Interestingly, a major role of Gram-negative bacteria versus a minor one ofActinobacteriain the immediate response to the added chitin (based on 16S rRNA gene abundance andchiAgene types) was indicated. The results of this study enhance our understanding of the response of the soil bacterial communities to chitin and are of use for both the understanding of soil suppressiveness and the possible mining of soil for novel enzymes.


2012 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. 1890-1898 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ángel Alegría ◽  
Pawel Szczesny ◽  
Baltasar Mayo ◽  
Jacek Bardowski ◽  
Magdalena Kowalczyk

ABSTRACTOscypek is a traditional Polish scalded-smoked cheese, with a protected-designation-of-origin (PDO) status, manufactured from raw sheep's milk without starter cultures in the Tatra Mountains region of Poland. This study was undertaken in order to gain insight into the microbiota that develops and evolves during the manufacture and ripening stages of Oscypek. To this end, we made use of both culturing and the culture-independent methods of PCR followed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) and pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons. The culture-dependent technique and PCR-DGGE fingerprinting detected the predominant microorganisms in traditional Oscypek, whereas the next-generation sequencing technique (454 pyrosequencing) revealed greater bacterial diversity. Besides members of the most abundant bacterial genera in dairy products, e.g.,Lactococcus,Lactobacillus,Leuconostoc,Streptococcus, andEnterococcus, identified by all three methods, other, subdominant bacteria belonging to the familiesBifidobacteriaceaeandMoraxellaceae(mostlyEnhydrobacter), as well as various minor bacteria, were identified by pyrosequencing. The presence of bifidobacterial sequences in a cheese system is reported for the first time. In addition to bacteria, a great diversity of yeast species was demonstrated in Oscypek by the PCR-DGGE method. Culturing methods enabled the determination of a number of viable microorganisms from different microbial groups and their isolation for potential future applications in specific cheese starter cultures.


2008 ◽  
Vol 74 (16) ◽  
pp. 5237-5240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin R. Jackson ◽  
Andrew Q. Weeks

ABSTRACT Bacterial communities associated with sediment particles were examined using PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Particle size influenced community structure, with attached bacterial assemblages separating into 63- to 125-, 125- to 1,000-, and 1,000- to 2,000-μm fractions. Differences were particularly pronounced for the Verrucomicrobia-Planctomycetes, whose numbers were significantly reduced on coarser particles.


2015 ◽  
Vol 81 (21) ◽  
pp. 7582-7592 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mireia Lopez-Siles ◽  
Margarita Martinez-Medina ◽  
Carles Abellà ◽  
David Busquets ◽  
Miriam Sabat-Mir ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTFaecalibacterium prausnitziidepletion in intestinal diseases has been extensively reported, but little is known about intraspecies variability. This work aims to determine if subjects with gastrointestinal disease host mucosa-associatedF. prausnitziipopulations different from those hosted by healthy individuals. A new species-specific PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) method targeting the 16S rRNA gene was developed to fingerprintF. prausnitziipopulations in biopsy specimens from 31 healthy control (H) subjects and 36 Crohn's disease (CD), 23 ulcerative colitis (UC), 6 irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and 22 colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. The richness ofF. prausnitziisubtypes was lower in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients than in H subjects. The most prevalent operational taxonomic units (OTUs) consisted of four phylotypes (OTUs with a 99% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity [OTU99]), which were shared by all groups of patients. Their distribution and the presence of some disease-specificF. prausnitziiphylotypes allowed us to differentiate the populations in IBD and CRC patients from that in H subjects. At the level of a minimum similarity of 97% (OTU97), two phylogroups accounted for 98% of the sequences. Phylogroup I was found in 87% of H subjects but in under 50% of IBD patients (P= 0.003). In contrast, phylogroup II was detected in >75% of IBD patients and in only 52% of H subjects (P= 0.005). This study reveals that even though the main members of theF. prausnitziipopulation are present in both H subjects and individuals with gut diseases, richness is reduced in the latter and an altered phylotype distribution exists between diseases. This approach may serve as a basis for addressing the suitability ofF. prausnitziiphylotypes to be quantified as a putative biomarker of disease and depicting the importance of the loss of these subtypes in disease pathogenesis.


2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
O.-C. Chan ◽  
W.-T. Liu ◽  
H. H. Fang

The microbial community structure of granular sludge from an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor treating brewery effluent was studied by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Twelve major bands were observed in the DGGE fingerprint for the Bacteria domain and four bands for the Archaea domain. Of the bacterial bands observed, six were successfully purified and sequenced. Among them, three were related to the gram-positive low G+C group, one to the Delta subclass of the Proteobacteria, one to the Gamma subclass, and one to the Cytophaga group with no close related sequence. The 16S rRNA sequences of the four archaeal bands were closely associated with Methanosaeta concilii and Methanobacterium formicum.


2009 ◽  
Vol 75 (11) ◽  
pp. 3673-3678 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farzaneh Rezaei ◽  
Defeng Xing ◽  
Rachel Wagner ◽  
John M. Regan ◽  
Tom L. Richard ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Electricity can be directly generated by bacteria in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) from many different biodegradable substrates. When cellulose is used as the substrate, electricity generation requires a microbial community with both cellulolytic and exoelectrogenic activities. Cellulose degradation with electricity production by a pure culture has not been previously demonstrated without addition of an exogenous mediator. Using a specially designed U-tube MFC, we enriched a consortium of exoelectrogenic bacteria capable of using cellulose as the sole electron donor. After 19 dilution-to-extinction serial transfers of the consortium, 16S rRNA gene-based community analysis using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and band sequencing revealed that the dominant bacterium was Enterobacter cloacae. An isolate designated E. cloacae FR from the enrichment was found to be 100% identical to E. cloacae ATCC 13047T based on a partial 16S rRNA sequence. In polarization tests using the U-tube MFC and cellulose as a substrate, strain FR produced 4.9 ± 0.01 mW/m2, compared to 5.4 ± 0.3 mW/m2 for strain ATCC 13047T. These results demonstrate for the first time that it is possible to generate electricity from cellulose using a single bacterial strain without exogenous mediators.


2013 ◽  
Vol 63 (Pt_8) ◽  
pp. 2782-2786 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuko Takada ◽  
Masanori Saito ◽  
Osamu Tsudukibashi ◽  
Takachika Hiroi ◽  
Masatomo Hirasawa

Four Gram-positive, catalase-negative, coccoid isolates that were obtained from donkey oral cavities formed two distinct clonal groups when characterized by phenotypic and phylogenetic studies. From the results of biochemical tests, the organisms were tentatively identified as a streptococcal species. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequencing studies confirmed the organisms to be members of the genus Streptococcus . Two of the isolates were related most closely to Streptococcus ursoris with 95.6 % similarity based on the 16S rRNA gene and to Streptococcus ratti with 92.0 % similarity based on the 60 kDa heat-shock protein gene (groEL). The other two isolates, however, were related to Streptococcus criceti with 95.0 and 89.0 % similarities based on the 16S rRNA and groEL genes, respectively. From both phylogenetic and phenotypic evidence, the four isolates formed two distinct clonal groups and are suggested to represent novel species of the genus Streptococcus . The names proposed for these organisms are Streptococcus orisasini sp. nov. (type strain NUM 1801T = JCM 17942T = DSM 25193T) and Streptococcus dentasini sp. nov. (type strain NUM 1808T = JCM 17943T = DSM 25137T).


2013 ◽  
Vol 79 (24) ◽  
pp. 7827-7836 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danilo Ercolini ◽  
Erica Pontonio ◽  
Francesca De Filippis ◽  
Fabio Minervini ◽  
Antonietta La Storia ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe bacterial ecology during rye and wheat sourdough preparation was described by 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing. Viable plate counts of presumptive lactic acid bacteria, the ratio between lactic acid bacteria and yeasts, the rate of acidification, a permutation analysis based on biochemical and microbial features, the number of operational taxonomic units (OTUs), and diversity indices all together demonstrated the maturity of the sourdoughs during 5 to 7 days of propagation. Flours were mainly contaminated by metabolically active genera (Acinetobacter,Pantoea,Pseudomonas,Comamonas,Enterobacter,Erwinia, andSphingomonas) belonging to the phylumProteobacteriaorBacteroidetes(genusChryseobacterium). Their relative abundances varied with the flour. Soon after 1 day of propagation, this population was almost completely inhibited except for theEnterobacteriaceae. Although members of the phylumFirmicuteswere present at very low or intermediate relative abundances in the flours, they became dominant soon after 1 day of propagation. Lactic acid bacteria were almost exclusively representative of theFirmicutesby this time.Weissellaspp. were already dominant in rye flour and stably persisted, though they were later flanked by theLactobacillus sakeigroup. There was a succession of species during 10 days of propagation of wheat sourdoughs. The fluctuation between dominating and subdominating populations ofL. sakeigroup,Leuconostocspp.,Weissellaspp., andLactococcus lactiswas demonstrated. Other subdominant species such asLactobacillus plantarumwere detectable throughout propagation. As shown by PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) analysis,Saccharomyces cerevisiaedominated throughout the sourdough propagation. Notwithstanding variations due to environmental and technology determinants, the results of this study represent a clear example of how the microbial ecology evolves during sourdough preparation.


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