Size Does Matter: Application-driven Approaches for Soil Metagenomics

Metagenomic analyses can provide extensive information on the structure, composition, and predicted gene functions of diverse environmental microbial assemblages. Each environment presents its own unique challenges to metagenomic investigation and requires a specifically designed approach to accommodate physicochemical and biotic factors unique to each environment that can pose technical hurdles and/or bias the metagenomic analyses. In particular, soils harbor an exceptional diversity of prokaryotes that are largely undescribed beyond the level of ribotype and are a potentially vast resource for natural product discovery. The successful application of a soil metagenomic approach depends on selecting the appropriate DNA extraction, purification, and if necessary, cloning methods for the intended downstream analyses. The most important technical considerations in a metagenomic study include obtaining a sufficient yield of high-purity DNA representing the targeted microorganisms within an environmental sample or enrichment and (if required) constructing a metagenomic library in a suitable vector and host. Size does matter in the context of the average insert size within a clone library or the sequence read length for a high-throughput sequencing approach. It is also imperative to select the appropriate metagenomic screening strategy to address the specific question(s) of interest, which should drive the selection of methods used in the earlier stages of a metagenomic project (e.g., DNA size, to clone or not to clone). Here, we present both the promising and problematic nature of soil metagenomics and discuss the factors that should be considered when selecting soil sampling, DNA extraction, purification, and cloning methods to implement based on the ultimate study objectives.     

Members of soil bacterial communities sensitive to tillage and crop rotation

Pyrosequencing was used to study the effect of rotation and tillage on total bacterial communities. We designed primers to the bacterial 16s rDNA and amplified DNA from soil samples from a long-term tillage/rotation trial in Kansas for two seasons. The 2 × 2 factorial trial had two rotation treatments (wheat-wheat and wheat-soybean) and two tillage treatments (conventional and no-till). A total of 20,180 16s rDNA sequences were generated and 2337 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were assembled using a 97% similarity cut-off. The phylum Proteobacteria represented 38% of 299 identified taxa. The second most abundant phylum was Acidobacteria, making up 20% of the sequences, the majority of which were Acidobacteria Group 1. The phyla Actinobacteria and Gemmatimonadetes comprised 12% and 3.5% of the sequences. Other groups detected included TM7, Nitrospira, Verrucomicrobia, and Bacteroidetes. Some clusters of Acidobacteria Group 1 were more frequent in continuous wheat versus wheat-soybean rotation, some Acidobacteria Group 2 were more frequent in no-till, and some Acidobacteria Group 4 were more frequent in wheat-soybean rotation. These results were validated by quantitative real-time PCR. Pyrosequencing provided taxonomic information about the overall bacterial community, and detected community shifts resulting from different cropping practices.     

Plot-scale manipulations of organic matter inputs to soils correlate with shifts in microbial community composition in a lowland tropical rain forest

Little is known about the organisms responsible for decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems, or how variations in their relative abundance may influence soil carbon (C) cycling. Here, we altered organic matter in situ by manipulating both litter and throughfall inputs to tropical rain forest soils, and then used qPCR and error-corrected bar-coded pyrosequencing to investigate how the resulting changes in soil chemical properties affected microbial community structure. The plot-scale manipulations drove significant changes in microbial community composition: Acidobacteria were present in greater relative abundance in litter removal plots than in double-litter plots, while Alphaproteobacteria were found in higher relative abundance in double-litter and throughfall reduction plots than in control or litter removal plots. In addition, the bacterial:archaeal ratio was higher in double-litter than no-litter plots. The relative abundances of Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria were positively correlated with microbial biomass C and nitrogen (N), and soil N and C pools, while acidobacterial relative abundance was negatively correlated with these same factors. Bacterial:archaeal ratios were positively correlated with soil moisture, total soil C and N, extractable ammonium pools, and soil C:N ratios. Additionally, bacterial:archaeal ratios were positively related to the relative abundance of Actinobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, and Actinobacteria, and negatively correlated to the relative abundance of Nitrospira and Acidobacteria. Together, our results support the copiotrophic/oligotrophic model of soil heterotrophic microbes suggested by Fierer et al. (2007).     

The Anatomy and Venom-Emitting Mechanism of the Globiferous Pedicellariae of the Urchin Parechinus Angulosus (Leske) With Notes on Their Behaviour

The freshwater snails belonging to the genus Melanoides Olivier, 1804 are widespread across tropical regions of the world and endemic species have evolved in the African Lakes Malawi, Mweru and Tanganyika. The endemic Melanoides species of Lake Malawi have been investigated several times during the last century, due to their large conchological variation, but no unambiguous answer regarding the number of species has been given. The phylogenetic relationship between morphs or genetic clones of Melanoides in Lake Malawi was inferred by phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data from the mitochondrial genes 16S and COI. Additional sequences from GenBank were included to investigate the relationship to other morphs from different parts of the world. For the first time, a putative secondary structure was developed for a partial region of 16S in this genus to identify the variability of the secondary structure in stems and loops. The molecular analyses indicated that several genetic clones exist in Lake Malawi and that M. tuberculata is a paraphyletic taxon. It is not clear from the results whether invasions or dispersals account for the complex situation in Lake Malawi. The basal position of M. admirabilis, endemic to Lake Tanganyika, in the inferred phylogeny indicates that Africa might be the origin of the genus. The results further indicate that three major clades of Melanoides, consisting of several genetic clones, are present in Lake Malawi; one clade consisting of invasive M. tuberculata, another of native M. tuberculata and a third consisting of the M. polymorpha- complex. It appears as if the unique development of morphs within the Melanoides genus in Lake Malawi has evolved primarily by divergence of genetic clones instead of species differentiation.     

Differential HSP90α expression in fish hepatocytes from polluted estuary during summer

The molecular chaperone, heat shock protein 90α (HSP90α), plays an important role in protein folding, degradation of denatured proteins and steroid activation. It is essential for the maintenance of cellular integrity and survival when induced in response to environmental, physical and chemical stresses. In the present investigation the effect of environmental stress on HSP90α expression was examined in grey mullet Mugil cephalus living in either a contaminated (Ennore) or uncontaminated (Kovalam) estuary over two seasons: Hepatocytes were isolated from grey mullet of both estuaries. Oxidative stress was determined along with HSP90α in these fish. Additionally, immunohistochemical changes were studied to confirm the HSP90α expression. Comparison of the results revealed enhanced hepatocyte oxidative stress and HSP90α expressions in fish from Ennore to a significant extent than fish from Kovalam. Also, the results showed significant seasonal variations with maximum expression observed during summer compared to the monsoon season. Overexpression of HSP90α in hepatocytes exposed to chronic environmental stress by pollutants may confer differential effects on cell survival by protecting against oxidative stress induced changes. The results also indicate that seasonal variations have significant effect on the HSP90α expression.     

西北地区马铃薯疮痂病病原菌鉴定及其生物学特性

为明确西北地区马铃薯疮痂病病原菌的种类和生物学特性,分别采用常规组织分离法和土壤混悬液分离法从宁夏、陕西和甘肃3个省区采集的29份疮痂病发病薯块和8份发病地块土壤中进行病原菌分离,并利用形态特征、生理生化特性和16S rDNA序列分析对病原菌进行鉴定。结果表明,从发病薯块和发病土壤中共分离到50株链霉菌Streptomyces spp.,通过回接法验证获得6株马铃薯疮痂病致病菌株。6株致病菌株的培养特性和形态特征差别较大;其中菌株G4-1、G9和SYN13不能以果糖和木糖为单一碳源,菌株SYNT3不能以棉子糖为单一碳源;除菌株NLG4-1外,其余5株菌株均能在络氨酸琼脂培养基上产生黑色素。经16S rDNA序列分析,菌株G4-1、G9与疮痂病链霉菌S. scabiei的相似率分别达99.47%和99.34%,菌株NLG4-1、SYNT3与S. enissocaesilis的相似率分别达97.90%和98.18%,菌株GBH2与加利利链霉菌S. galilaeus的相似率达99.93%,菌株SYN13与S. turgidiscabies的相似率达97.56%,表明西北地区马铃薯疮痂病病原菌至少存在4个种。     

An oligonucleotide microarray-based assay for identification of phytoplasma 16S ribosomal groups

A method using consensus PCR followed by oligonucleotide microarray hybridization was developed for identification of phytoplasma 16Sr ribosomal groups. The array consisted of 21– to 33-nt-long oligonucleotides which were designed to hybridize to individual 16Sr groups. Two oligonucleotides were designed to detect all phytoplasma groups. The array could efficiently identify samples from 16SrI, 16SrII, 16SrIII, 16SrV, 16SrVI, 16SrVII, 16SrIX, 16SrX and 16SrXII ribosomal groups. This microarray-based test represents a rapid method for detection of phytoplasmas in unknown samples and for identification of most 16Sr groups.     

Characterization of the goldfish fecal microflora by the fluorescent in situ hybridization method

ABSTRACT:   Bacterial populations in goldfish feces were characterized by the fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) method. A total of nine different group-specific rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes were used. Approximately half of the microbial cells (57.8 ± 16.7%) were detected with a probe EUB338 and found to be bacteria. The microbial cells in 33–35 of the 35 samples from five specimens strongly hybridized with probes ALF1b, BET42a and GAM42a, suggesting that goldfish intestinal bacteria are mainly composed of α, β and γ-subclasses of Proteobacteria. The fact that a probe AER66 reacted with 25.6 ± 14.2% of the total microbial cells in all 35 samples, demonstrated that genus Aeromonas was the dominant species in the goldfish intestines. Genus Bacteroides including Bacteroides type A detected with a probe BAC303 was observed in 15 of 35 samples while other taxonomic groups determined with HGC69a, CF39a and P72 were detected in 6–11 of 35 samples. These results strongly suggest that Bacteroides shows the greatest daily fluctuation and interindividual variation in the intestines of goldfish. Moreover, the FISH method was proven to be useful for rapid enumeration of taxonomic groups of fish intestinal bacteria.     

奶牛附红细胞体16S rRNA基因的克隆、测序及系统发育进化树的建立

为了从分子水平上证实奶牛附红细胞体的存在及研究其分类学地位,利用原核生物16S rRNA基因通用引物对分离纯化的疑似奶牛附红细胞体进行16S rRNA基因的PCR扩增及克隆测序。结果扩增出长约1.5 kb的目的片段,测序结果表明:目的片段长度为1 439 bp,其核苷酸序列与国外已发表的牛温氏附红细胞体(E.wenyoni)的16SrRNA基因片段同源性高达97.1%,暂称为中国广西株(E.wenyoniCGX)。系统发育进化树显示:E.wenyoni和其他血营养菌在系统进化关系上组成了一个大的进化分支,与支原体科、支原体属的病原最接近(75%),而与立克次体科的病原较远(55%)。分析结果支持了Nei mark等和Messick等提出的将这类血营养菌划归支原体科、支原体属的建议。     

蓝细菌与福建苏铁(Cycad revoluta)的侵染性重组的研究

将苏铁珊瑚状根及根周围的土壤中分离的蓝细菌分离物与福建苏铁(Cycas revoluta)在实验室条件下进行重组。通过比较重组前后蓝细菌分离物的STRR指纹图谱和16S rRNA的序列得蓝细菌分离物RZHA4能重新侵染苏铁的珊瑚状根。通过NCBI比对,蓝细菌分离物RZHA4的16S rRNA序列与蓝细菌NostocaceaeIL13-1的相似性为99%。