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IN SITU RT-PCR WITH A SULFATE-REDUCING BACTERIUM ISOLATED FROM SEAGRASS ROOTS
Citation:
Devereux, R D., S S. Wilkinson, AND D F. Yates. IN SITU RT-PCR WITH A SULFATE-REDUCING BACTERIUM ISOLATED FROM SEAGRASS ROOTS. Presented at the Gordon Research Conference on Applied and Environmental Microbiology, New London, CT, Jul. 22-27,2001.
Description:
Bacteria considered to be obligate anaerobes internally colonize roots of the submerged macrophyte Halodule wrightii. A sulfate reducing bacterium, Summer lac 1, was isolated on lactate from H. wrightii roots. The isolate has physiological characteristics typical of Desulfovibrio strains, but most notably does not utilize ethanol as an electron donor for sulfate reduction. The 16S rRNA sequence of Summer lac-1 is only 90% similar to sequences from other Desulfovibrionaceae suggesting Summer lac-1 represents a new genus. The sequence of the bisulfite reductase gene from Summer lac 1 has been determined and used to develop PCR primers. The primers have been used in RT-PCRs where RNA from Summer lac 1 cells grown under sulfate reducing conditions yield a band of the expected size. RNA from Summer lac 1 cells grown fermentatively does not yield the expected band when used in the RT-PCRs. The assays are being further developed to determine whether sulfate-reducing bacteria reduce sulfate inside seagrass roots. If so, information on the spatial and temporal distribution of active sulfate-reducing bacteria may be useful for determining the condition of seagrasses, and would represent an initial step in exploring the interactions of an aquatic plant with its anaerobic endorhizobacteria.