scholarly journals Rapid and Simple Method for the Most-Probable-Number Estimation of Arsenic-Reducing Bacteria

2001 ◽  
Vol 67 (7) ◽  
pp. 3168-3173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linping Kuai ◽  
Arjun A. Nair ◽  
Martin F. Polz
Keyword(s):  
Dry Weight ◽  
Environmental Water ◽  
Microtiter Plate ◽  
Most Probable Number ◽  
Precipitation Reaction ◽  
Simple Method ◽  
Probable Number ◽  
Cell Counts ◽  
Pure Cultures ◽  
Reducing Bacteria

ABSTRACT A rapid and simple most-probable-number (MPN) procedure for the enumeration of dissimilatory arsenic-reducing bacteria (DARB) is presented. The method is based on the specific detection of arsenite, the end product of anaerobic arsenate respiration, by a precipitation reaction with sulfide. After 4 weeks of incubation, the medium for the MPN method is acidified to pH 6 and sulfide is added to a final concentration of about 1 mM. The brightly yellow arsenic trisulfide precipitates immediately and can easily be scored at arsenite concentrations as low as 0.05 mM. Abiotic reduction of arsenate upon sulfide addition, which could yield false positives, apparently produces a soluble As-S intermediate, which does not precipitate until about 1 h after sulfide addition. Using the new MPN method, population estimates of pure cultures of DARB were similar to direct cell counts. MPNs of environmental water and sediment samples yielded DARB numbers between 101 and 105 cells per ml or gram (dry weight), respectively. Poisoned and sterilized controls showed that potential abiotic reductants in environmental samples did not interfere with the MPN estimates. A major advantage is that the assay can be easily scaled to a microtiter plate format, enabling analysis of large numbers of samples by use of multichannel pipettors. Overall, the MPN method provides a rapid and simple means for estimating population sizes of DARB, a diverse group of organisms for which no comprehensive molecular markers have been developed yet.

scholarly journals Evidence for Microbial Fe(III) Reduction in Anoxic, Mining-Impacted Lake Sediments (Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho)

2000 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 154-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
David E. Cummings ◽  
Anthony W. March ◽  
Benjamin Bostick ◽  
Stefan Spring ◽  
Frank Caccavo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Iron Reduction ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Most Probable Number ◽  
Probable Number ◽  
Coeur D'alene ◽  
Reduction Of Iron ◽  
Study Support ◽  
Reducing Bacteria ◽  
Microbiological Data

ABSTRACT Mining-impacted sediments of Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, contain more than 10% metals on a dry weight basis, approximately 80% of which is iron. Since iron (hydr)oxides adsorb toxic, ore-associated elements, such as arsenic, iron (hydr)oxide reduction may in part control the mobility and bioavailability of these elements. Geochemical and microbiological data were collected to examine the ecological role of dissimilatory Fe(III)-reducing bacteria in this habitat. The concentration of mild-acid-extractable Fe(II) increased with sediment depth up to 50 g kg−1, suggesting that iron reduction has occurred recently. The maximum concentrations of dissolved Fe(II) in interstitial water (41 mg liter−1) occurred 10 to 15 cm beneath the sediment-water interface, suggesting that sulfidogenesis may not be the predominant terminal electron-accepting process in this environment and that dissolved Fe(II) arises from biological reductive dissolution of iron (hydr)oxides. The concentration of sedimentary magnetite (Fe3O4), a common product of bacterial Fe(III) hydroxide reduction, was as much as 15.5 g kg−1. Most-probable-number enrichment cultures revealed that the mean density of Fe(III)-reducing bacteria was 8.3 × 105 cells g (dry weight) of sediment−1. Two new strains of dissimilatory Fe(III)-reducing bacteria were isolated from surface sediments. Collectively, the results of this study support the hypothesis that dissimilatory reduction of iron has been and continues to be an important biogeochemical process in the environment examined.

Estimation of Methanogen Biomass by Quantitation of Coenzyme M

1999 ◽  
Vol 65 (12) ◽  
pp. 5541-5545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dwayne A. Elias ◽  
Lee R. Krumholz ◽  
Ralph S. Tanner ◽  
Joseph M. Suflita
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Chromatography ◽  
Environmental Samples ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Methanogenic Bacteria ◽  
Most Probable Number ◽  
Environmental Matrices ◽  
Coenzyme M ◽  
Simple Method ◽  
Probable Number ◽  
Pure Cultures

ABSTRACT Determination of the role of methanogenic bacteria in an anaerobic ecosystem often requires quantitation of the organisms. Because of the extreme oxygen sensitivity of these organisms and the inherent limitations of cultural techniques, an accurate biomass value is very difficult to obtain. We standardized a simple method for estimating methanogen biomass in a variety of environmental matrices. In this procedure we used the thiol biomarker coenzyme M (CoM) (2-mercaptoethanesulfonic acid), which is known to be present in all methanogenic bacteria. A high-performance liquid chromatography-based method for detecting thiols in pore water (A. Vairavamurthy and M. Mopper, Anal. Chim. Acta 78:363–370, 1990) was modified in order to quantify CoM in pure cultures, sediments, and sewage water samples. The identity of the CoM derivative was verified by using liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy. The assay was linear for CoM amounts ranging from 2 to 2,000 pmol, and the detection limit was 2 pmol of CoM/ml of sample. CoM was not adsorbed to sediments. The methanogens tested contained an average of 19.5 nmol of CoM/mg of protein and 0.39 ± 0.07 fmol of CoM/cell. Environmental samples contained an average of 0.41 ± 0.17 fmol/cell based on most-probable-number estimates. CoM was extracted by using 1% tri-(N)-butylphosphine in isopropanol. More than 90% of the CoM was recovered from pure cultures and environmental samples. We observed no interference from sediments in the CoM recovery process, and the method could be completed aerobically within 3 h. Freezing sediment samples resulted in 46 to 83% decreases in the amounts of detectable CoM, whereas freezing had no effect on the amounts of CoM determined in pure cultures. The method described here provides a quick and relatively simple way to estimate methanogenic biomass.

Microbial Community Analysis inside a Biooxidation Heap for Gold Recovery in Equador

2017 ◽  
Vol 262 ◽  
pp. 135-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos L. Aspiazu ◽  
Paulina Aguirre ◽  
Sabrina Hedrich ◽  
Axel Schippers
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Fine Fraction ◽  
Community Analysis ◽  
Gold Recovery ◽  
Microbial Community Analysis ◽  
Most Probable Number ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Probable Number ◽  
Cell Numbers ◽  
Cell Counts

In a mine owned by the company Orenas S.A. (Equador), a biooxidation process for gold recovery has been developed. Refractory gold ore was crushed, milled and 500 ton of flotation concentrate was agglomerated by coating a support rock. This was piled up on a liner and the biooxidation process in the heap of 35x25x6 m3 was run for approximately 150 days. The oxidized material was subsequently removed for further processing. An outcrop allowed for depth dependent sampling of altogether 36 samples at three sites over the complete depth of 6 m. The fine fraction was removed from the host rock and sent to the laboratory for analysis of the microbial community. The pH ranged between 2.2 and 2.9. Total cell counts determined via counting under a fluorescence microscope after SYBR Green staining indicated a high microbial colonialization of the heap in all depths between 106 to 109 cells per g concentrate, however the highest cell numbers were mainly found in the upper 50 cm. Most-probable-number determination of living, acidophilic iron (II)-oxidizers for one site also revealed a decrease of cell numbers with depth (between 104 to 108 cells per g concentrate). Further molecular analyses of the community composition based on extracted DNA and 16S rRNA gene analyses by TRFLP and qPCR revealed a complex archaeal and bacterial community within the heap. It can be stated that an active community of acidophiles runs the biooxidation process in all sampled parts of the heap.

A simple method for the enumeration of methanogens by most probable number counting

2012 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 311-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Otto Wagner ◽  
Philipp Lins ◽  
Paul Illmer
Keyword(s):  
Most Probable Number ◽  
Simple Method ◽  
Probable Number

scholarly journals Denitrifying bacteria in the limnetic zone of Lake Tota, Colombia

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Julian Esteban Másmela-Mendoza ◽  
Luz Marina Lizarazo Forero
Keyword(s):  
Rainbow Trout ◽  
Fish Farming ◽  
Sampling Period ◽  
Denitrifying Bacteria ◽  
Most Probable Number ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Probable Number ◽  
Physicochemical Factors ◽  
Reducing Bacteria ◽  
Nitrate Reducing Bacteria

The objective of study was to isolate and determine the identity of denitrifying bacteria from limnetic areas of Lake Tota (Colombian Andes) with and without rainbow trout production activities. We examined the relationships between the lake’s physicochemical factors (oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorus content) and two bacterial communities (denitrifying bacteria and coliforms). Water samples were taken 20m below the surface from July to September at five limnetic zones; two of which were close to rainbow trout farming areas. In each zone, the concentrations of oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorus were measured. To identify and quantify the abundance of bacteria, the most probable number (MPN) technique was used, employing minimal medium for denitrifying bacteria and medium for nitrate reducing bacteria (NRB). A greater number of denitrifying bacteria were found in the fish farming zones, identifying bacteria of the genera Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Nocardia, and Streptomyces. The number of nitrate-reducing bacteria revealed statistically significant differences throughout the sampling period, increasing from July to September and was related to a decrease in precipitation. The density of NRB and total phosphorus were directly correlated. High bacterial densities of denitrifyingbacteria and coliforms are indicative of changes from oligotrophic to eutrophic states in the studied limnetic areas.

Selective enumeration of aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbon degrading bacteria by a most-probable-number procedure

1996 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 252-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian A. Wrenn ◽  
Albert D. Venosa
Keyword(s):  
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon ◽  
Aromatic Hydrocarbon ◽  
Oxidation Products ◽  
Most Probable Number ◽  
Probable Number ◽  
Microtiter Plates ◽  
Degrading Bacteria ◽  
Polycyclic Aromatic ◽  
Pure Cultures ◽  
Plate Counts

A most-probable-number (MPN) procedure was developed to separately enumerate aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon degrading bacteria, because most of the currently available methods are unable to distinguish between these two groups. Separate 96-well microtiter plates are used to estimate the sizes of these two populations. The alkane-degrader MPN method uses hexadecane as the selective growth substrate and positive wells are detected by reduction of iodonitrotetrazolium violet, which is added after incubation for 2 weeks at 20 °C. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon degraders are grown on a mixture of phenanthrene, anthracene, fluorene, and dibenzothiophene in a second plate. Positive wells turn yellow to greenish-brown from accumulation of the partial oxidation products of the aromatic substrates and they can be scored after a 3-week incubation period. These MPN procedures are accurate and selective. For pure cultures, heterotrophic plate counts on a nonselective medium and the appropriate MPN procedure provide similar estimates of the population density. Bacteria that cannot grow on the selective substrates do not produce false positive responses even when the inoculum density is very high. Thus, this method, which is simple enough for use in the field, provides reliable estimates for the density and composition of hydrocarbon-degrading microbial populations.Key words: most probable number, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, alkane, hydrocarbon, bacteria.

Colony-Forming Unit Enumeration by a Plate-MPN Method

1983 ◽  
Vol 46 (10) ◽  
pp. 836-841 ◽  
Author(s):  
S-T. TAN ◽  
R. B. MAXCY ◽  
W. W. STROUP
Keyword(s):  
Standard Technique ◽  
Most Probable Number ◽  
Plate Method ◽  
Probable Number ◽  
Microbial Counts ◽  
Colony Forming Unit ◽  
Pure Cultures ◽  
Petri Plate ◽  
Mpn Test ◽  
Surface Plate

Concepts of the standard surface plate method and the most probable number method (MPN) were combined to provide a new enumeration technique (plate-MPN). Three discrete 0.01-ml samples of an appropriate decimal dilution were inoculated onto each quadrant of a pre-dried petri plate. The discrete spots from the inoculum were then observed for growth after incubation. Results were interpreted analogous to a 3-tube MPN test using presently available tables. Application of the test to pure cultures and mixed flora provided no evidence to indicate the plate-MPN technique to be any less accurate than the standard technique for microbial counts. The plate-MPN technique was less precise than the standard technique. However, the plate-MPN technique has many advantages over traditional methods.

Characterization and Identification of Numerically Abundant Culturable Bacteria from the Anoxic Bulk Soil of Rice Paddy Microcosms

1999 ◽  
Vol 65 (11) ◽  
pp. 5042-5049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuk-Jeong Chin ◽  
Dittmar Hahn ◽  
Ulf Hengstmann ◽  
Werner Liesack ◽  
Peter H. Janssen
Keyword(s):  
16S Rrna ◽  
16S Rrna Gene ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
16S Rrna Genes ◽  
Rrna Genes ◽  
Most Probable Number ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
16S Rrna Gene Sequences ◽  
Probable Number ◽  
Clostridial Cluster

ABSTRACT Most-probable-number (liquid serial dilution culture) counts were obtained for polysaccharolytic and saccharolytic fermenting bacteria in the anoxic bulk soil of flooded microcosms containing rice plants. The highest viable counts (up to 2.5 × 108 cells per g [dry weight] of soil) were obtained by using xylan, pectin, or a mixture of seven mono- and disaccharides as the growth substrate. The total cell count for the soil, as determined by using 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole staining, was 4.8 × 108cells per g (dry weight) of soil. The nine strains isolated from the terminal positive tubes in counting experiments which yielded culturable populations that were equivalent to about 5% or more of the total microscopic count population belonged to the divisionVerrucomicrobia, theCytophaga-Flavobacterium-Bacteroides division, clostridial cluster XIVa, clostridial cluster IX, Bacillus spp., and the class Actinobacteria. Isolates originating from the terminal positive tubes of liquid dilution series can be expected to be representatives of species whose populations in the soil are large. None of the isolates had 16S rRNA gene sequences identical to 16S rRNA gene sequences of previously described species for which data are available. Eight of the nine strains isolated fermented sugars to acetate and propionate (and some also fermented sugars to succinate). The closest relatives of these strains (except for the two strains of actinobacteria) were as-yet-uncultivated bacteria detected in the same soil sample by cloning PCR-amplified 16S rRNA genes (U. Hengstmann, K.-J. Chin, P. H. Janssen, and W. Liesack, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65:5050–5058, 1999). Twelve other isolates, which originated from most-probable-number counting series indicating that the culturable populations were smaller, were less closely related to cloned 16S rRNA genes.

A Method of Profiling Microbial Communities Based on a Most-Probable-Number Assay That Uses BIOLOG Plates and Multiple Sole Carbon Sources

1999 ◽  
Vol 65 (10) ◽  
pp. 4419-4424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masashi Gamo ◽  
Tadashi Shoji
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Carbon Sources ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Most Probable Number ◽  
Probable Number ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Mixing Ratios ◽  
Color Development ◽  
Assay Procedure ◽  
Pure Cultures

ABSTRACT A new approach to the community-level BIOLOG assay was proposed. This assay, which we call the BIOLOG-MPN assay, is a most-probable-number (MPN) assay that uses BIOLOG plates and multiple sole carbon sources, and the profiles obtained by this assay consist of MPNs estimated for the substrates in the BIOLOG plates. In order to demonstrate the performance of the BIOLOG-MPN assay, it was applied to pure cultures, model bacterial communities that contain two strains in different ratios, and microbial community samples. MPN estimation using BIOLOG plates worked well for the substrates on which utilizers can grow at a sufficiently high rate for color development under the conditions of the assay procedure. Furthermore, the results obtained using model communities showed that the MPNs obtained reflected the mixing ratios of pure cultures in the model communities. The profiles obtained using model communities and community samples were differentiated properly by statistical analyses. The results suggest that the BIOLOG-MPN assay is a promising procedure for obtaining a quantitative picture of the community structure.

Applying a most probable number method for enumerating planktonic, dissimilatory, ammonium-producing, nitrate-reducing bacteria in oil field waters

2005 ◽  
Vol 51 (8) ◽  
pp. 725-729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth E Eckford ◽  
Phillip M Fedorak
Keyword(s):  
Hydrogen Sulfide ◽  
Water Samples ◽  
Oil Field ◽  
Most Probable Number ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Probable Number ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Reducing Bacteria ◽  
Nitrate Reducing Bacteria ◽  
Oil Field Water

A most probable number (MPN) method was used to enumerate dissimilatory ammonium-producing, nitrate-reducing bacteria (DAP-NRB) in oil field waters and to determine whether they were stimulated by nitrate addition used to control hydrogen sulfide production. An ammonium production medium with 5 carbon and energy sources (acetate, glucose, glycerol, pyruvate, and succinate) and nitrate was used in a 3-tube MPN procedure to enumerate DAP-NRB. These bacteria were detected in 12 of 18 oil field water samples, but they were seldom detected in wellhead samples. Three oil field water samples were amended with nitrate in serum bottles and the numbers of different NRB were determined over a 38-day incubation time. This amendment stimulated increases in the numbers of heterotrophic NRB and autotrophic nitrate-reducing, sulfide-oxidizing bacteria, but DAP-NRB remained a minor portion of these communities. Overall, DAP-NRB were present in many of the oil field waters that were examined but their numbers were low. It appears that DAP-NRB would play a minor role in the consumption of nitrate injected into oil field waters for the control of hydrogen sulfide production.Key words: heterotroph, nitrate-reducing bacteria, dissimilatory nitrate reduction, ammonium, petroleum.

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