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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2001, p. 4850-4857, Vol. 67, No. 10
Institute of Microbiology, Russian Academy of
Sciences, Moscow 117811, Russia,1 and
Max-Planck-Institut für terrestrische Mikrobiologie,
D-35043 Marburg, Germany2
Received 16 March 2001/Accepted 9 July 2001
Two 16S rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes, Mcell-1026 and
Mcell-181, were developed for specific detection of the acidophilic methanotroph Methylocella palustris using fluorescence
in situ hybridization (FISH). The fluorescence signal of probe
Mcell-181 was enhanced by its combined application with the
oligonucleotide helper probe H158. Mcell-1026 and Mcell-181, as well as
16S rRNA oligonucleotide probes with reported group specificity for
either type I methanotrophs (probes M-84 and M-705) or the
Methylosinus/Methylocystis group of type
II methanotrophs (probes MA-221 and M-450), were used in FISH to
determine the abundance of distinct methanotroph groups in a
Sphagnum peat sample of pH 4.2. M.
palustris was enumerated at greater than 106 cells
per g of peat (wet weight), while the detectable population size of
type I methanotrophs was three orders of magnitude below the population
level of M. palustris. The cell counts with probe MA-221
suggested that only 104 type II methanotrophs per g of peat
(wet weight) were present, while the use of probe M-450 revealed more
than 106 type II methanotroph cells per g of the same
samples. This discrepancy was due to the fact that probe M-450 targets
almost all currently known strains of Methylosinus and
Methylocystis, whereas probe MA-221, originally
described as group specific, does not detect a large proportion of
Methylocystis strains. The total number of
methanotrophic bacteria detected by FISH was 3.0 (±0.2) × 106 cells per g (wet weight) of peat. This was about 0.8%
of the total bacterial cell number. Thus, our study clearly suggests that M. palustris and a defined population of
Methylocystis spp. were the predominant methanotrophs
detectable by FISH in an acidic Sphagnum peat bog.
0099-2240/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/AEM.67.10.4850-4857.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Detection and Enumeration of Methanotrophs in
Acidic Sphagnum Peat by 16S rRNA Fluorescence In Situ
Hybridization, Including the Use of Newly Developed Oligonucleotide
Probes for Methylocella palustris
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address:
Max-Planck-Institut für terrestrische Mikrobiologie,
Karl-von-Frisch-Str., D-35043 Marburg, Germany. Phone: 49 (6421) 178 720. Fax: 49 (6421) 178 809. E-mail address:
Liesack{at}mailer.uni-marburg.de.
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