This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Jenkins, B. D.
Right arrow Articles by Zehr, J. P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Jenkins, B. D.
Right arrow Articles by Zehr, J. P.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Jenkins, B. D.
Right arrow Articles by Zehr, J. P.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2004, p. 1767-1776, Vol. 70, No. 3
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.3.1767-1776.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Fingerprinting Diazotroph Communities in the Chesapeake Bay by Using a DNA Macroarray

Bethany D. Jenkins,1 Grieg F. Steward,2 Steven M. Short,1 Bess B. Ward,3 and Jonathan P. Zehr1*

University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California 95064,1 University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii,2 Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey3

Received 6 August 2003/ Accepted 12 December 2003

Investigations of the distribution and diversity of nitrogen-fixing microorganisms in natural environments have often relied on PCR amplification and sequence analysis of a portion of one of the key enzymes in nitrogen fixation, dinitrogenase reductase, encoded by nifH. Recent work has suggested that DNA macroarrays provide semiquantitative fingerprints of diversity within mixtures of nifH amplicons (G. F. Steward, B. D. Jenkins, B. B. Ward, and J. P. Zehr, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70:1455-1465, 2004). Here we report the application of macroarrays for a study in the Chesapeake Bay. Samples from different locations in the bay yielded distinct fingerprints. Analysis of replicates and samples from different locations by cluster analysis showed that replicates clustered together, whereas different samples formed distinct clusters. There was a correspondence between the hybridization pattern observed and that predicted from the distribution of sequence types in a corresponding clone library. Some discrepancies between the methods were observed which are likely a result of the high nifH sequence diversity in the Chesapeake Bay and the limited number of sequences represented on this version of the array. Analyses of sequences in the clone library indicate that the Chesapeake Bay harbors unique, phylogenetically diverse diazotrophs. The macroarray hybridization patterns suggest that there are spatially variable communities of diazotrophs, which have been confirmed by quantitative PCR methods (S. M. Short, B. D. Jenkins, and J. P. Zehr, Appl. Environ. Microbiol., in press). The results show that DNA macroarrays have great potential for mapping the spatial and temporal variability of functional gene diversity in the environment.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Dept. of Ocean Sciences, 1156 High St., University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064. Phone: (831) 459-4009. Fax: (831) 459-4882. E-mail: zehrj{at}es.ucsc.edu.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2004, p. 1767-1776, Vol. 70, No. 3
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.3.1767-1776.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • McDonald, I. R., Bodrossy, L., Chen, Y., Murrell, J. C. (2008). Molecular Ecology Techniques for the Study of Aerobic Methanotrophs. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 1305-1315 [Full Text]  
  • Sanguin, H., Remenant, B., Dechesne, A., Thioulouse, J., Vogel, T. M., Nesme, X., Moenne-Loccoz, Y., Grundmann, G. L. (2006). Potential of a 16S rRNA-Based Taxonomic Microarray for Analyzing the Rhizosphere Effects of Maize on Agrobacterium spp. and Bacterial Communities.. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 4302-4312 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Langlois, R. J., LaRoche, J., Raab, P. A. (2005). Diazotrophic Diversity and Distribution in the Tropical and Subtropical Atlantic Ocean. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 7910-7919 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Bontemps, C., Golfier, G., Gris-Liebe, C., Carrere, S., Talini, L., Boivin-Masson, C. (2005). Microarray-Based Detection and Typing of the Rhizobium Nodulation Gene nodC: Potential of DNA Arrays To Diagnose Biological Functions of Interest. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 8042-8048 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Steward, G. F., Jenkins, B. D., Ward, B. B., Zehr, J. P. (2004). Development and Testing of a DNA Macroarray To Assess Nitrogenase (nifH) Gene Diversity. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70: 1455-1465 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»