Bothe H, Jost G, Schloter M, Ward B B, Witzel K
Botanical Institute, University of Cologne, Germany.
FEMS Microbiol Rev. 2000 Dec;24(5):673-90. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-6976.2000.tb00566.x.
This review summarizes aspects of the current knowledge about the ecology of ammonia-oxidizing and denitrifying bacteria. The development of molecular techniques has contributed enormously to the rapid recent progress in the field. Different techniques for doing so are discussed. The characterization of ammonia-oxidizing and -denitrifying bacteria by sequencing the genes encoding 16S rRNA and functional proteins opened the possibility of constructing specific probes. It is now possible to monitor the occurrence of a particular species of these bacteria in any habitat and to get an estimate of the relative abundance of different types, even if they are not culturable as yet. These data indicate that the composition of nitrifying and denitrifying communities is complex and apparently subject to large fluctuations, both in time and in space. More attempts are needed to enrich and isolate those bacteria which dominate the processes, and to characterize them by a combination of physiological, biochemical and molecular techniques. While PCR and probing with nucleotides or antibodies are primarily used to study the structure of nitrifying and denitrifying communities, studies of their function in natural habitats, which require quantification at the transcriptional level, are currently not possible.
本综述总结了当前关于氨氧化细菌和反硝化细菌生态学的知识要点。分子技术的发展极大地推动了该领域近期的快速进展。文中讨论了用于此目的的不同技术。通过对编码16S rRNA和功能蛋白的基因进行测序来表征氨氧化细菌和反硝化细菌，为构建特异性探针提供了可能。现在能够监测这些细菌的特定物种在任何生境中的存在情况，并估计不同类型的相对丰度，即使它们目前还无法培养。这些数据表明，硝化和反硝化群落的组成复杂，且在时间和空间上显然会发生大幅波动。需要更多的尝试来富集和分离那些主导这些过程的细菌，并通过生理、生化和分子技术相结合的方法对其进行表征。虽然PCR以及用核苷酸或抗体进行探测主要用于研究硝化和反硝化群落的结构，但目前还无法对它们在自然生境中的功能进行研究，因为这需要在转录水平上进行定量分析。
