The Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.
Microbes Environ. 2012;27(1):67-71. doi: 10.1264/jsme2.me11285. Epub 2011 Dec 27.
Vertical profiles of the abundance, community composition, and potential activity of methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) were investigated in the sediment of Lake Biwa. Sediment samples were obtained from two sites at different water depths. The abundance of MOB was assessed as the copy number of the pmoA gene (encoding the alpha subunit of particulate methane monooxygenase), measured with quantitative real-time PCR. Abundance of the pmoA gene peaked in the 5-8 cm layer of the sediment from both sites. MOB community composition was investigated by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of pmoA and 16S rRNA genes. The band patterns observed in DGGE did not significantly differ with sediment depths or sampling sites. Sequence analysis of the DGGE bands indicated the dominance of the genus Methylobacter. Potential activity, which was measured in the presence of sufficient amounts of methane and oxygen, decreased linearly from the sediment surface to deeper layers. These results suggest that the pmoA gene copy number cannot be regarded as an indicator of aerobic MOB that retain potential activity in sediments.
我们研究了琵琶湖沉积物中甲烷氧化菌(MOB)的丰度、群落组成和潜在活性的垂直分布。从两个不同水深的地点采集了沉积物样品。用定量实时 PCR 测量了编码颗粒状甲烷单加氧酶α亚基的 pmoA 基因的拷贝数来评估 MOB 的丰度。两个地点的沉积物中,pmoA 基因的丰度在 5-8 厘米的层中达到峰值。通过 pmoA 和 16S rRNA 基因的变性梯度凝胶电泳(DGGE)分析研究了 MOB 群落组成。DGGE 中观察到的条带模式与沉积物深度或采样地点没有显著差异。DGGE 条带的序列分析表明甲基杆菌属占主导地位。在有足够量的甲烷和氧气存在的情况下测量的潜在活性从沉积物表面到更深的层线性下降。这些结果表明,pmoA 基因拷贝数不能作为保留沉积物中潜在活性的好氧 MOB 的指标。