湿地土壤微生物DNA提取及其脱腐技术

DNA分子生物学技术的广泛应用,为全面了解微生物群落提供了有力的工具。本文建立了一种新的从湿地土壤中提取微生物总DNA的方法,即氯化钙-SDS-酶法。在直接提取DNA过程中采用氯化钙去除腐殖酸,DNA提取缓冲液中不使用EDTA螯合剂,提取过程用时4h左右。与其他两种方法相比,该方法高效去除湿地土壤腐殖酸,纯度较高,满足PCR扩增,为微生物生态学研究提供了一种高效的湿地土壤微生物总DNA提取和纯化技术。     

基因芯片技术在微生物学研究中的应用

近年来,基因芯片技术的诞生使得在一个实验中就可以同时对成千上万个基因进行转录水平的表达和DNA同源性分析成为可能。该项技术已被应用于揭示许多微生物体的转录表达和基因组的差异,随着越来越多的微生物基因组全序列测定的完成,基因芯片正逐渐成为许多微生物学研究领域中的一项常规技术。归纳了该技术在微生物生理,致病性,流行病学,生态,进化,代谢工程及发酵优化等研究中的应用。     

一种直接用于PCR扩增的山羊瘤胃微生物DNA提取方法的建立

目的建立提取高质量的瘤胃微生物DNA的方法,为采用免培养技术研究山羊瘤胃微生物奠定基础。方法采集山羊瘤胃内容物,用SDS高盐法提取微生物总DNA,以通用引物扩增细菌和古细菌的16SrDNA。结果提取到的瘤胃微生物总DNA片段大于23kb,PCR能够扩增出细菌和古细菌的16SrDNA片段。结论用该提取方法得到的山羊瘤胃微生物总DNA能够满足后续实验的需要。     

单分子实时测序及其在微生物表观遗传学中的应用

表观遗传学对于微生物的生命进程起着重要作用。由限制-修饰系统调控的DNA修饰参与微生物的免疫防御系统,无限制-修饰系统调控的DNA修饰通过调控基因表达影响表型。然而,表观遗传信息还没有被常规地作为DNA信息收集分析。基于对DNA合成反应的动力学分析,单分子实时测序技术可以在获得基本序列数据的同时实现对被修饰核苷酸的检测。这个技术为微生物中已知DNA修饰的研究提供了新的平台,也为新型DNA修饰的发现做好准备。本文综述了单分子实时测序技术及其在微生物表观遗传学中的应用。     

Metagenomics as a new technological tool to gain scientific knowledge

Metagenomics (also Environmental Genomics, Ecogenomics or Community Genomics) is an emerging approach to studying microbial communities in the environment. This relatively new technique enables studies of organisms that are not easily cultured in a laboratory, thus differing from traditional microbiology that relies almost entirely on cultured organisms. Metagenomics technology thus holds the premise of new depths of understanding of microbes and, importantly, is a new tool for addressing biotechnological problems, without tedious cultivation efforts. DNA sequencing technology has already made a significant breakthrough, and generation of gigabase-pairs of microbial DNA sequences is not posing a challenge any longer. However, conceptual advances in microbial science will not only rely on the availability of innovative sequencing platforms, but also on sequence-independent tools for getting an insight into the functioning of microbial communities. This is an important issue, as we know that even the best annotations of genomes and metagenomes only create hypotheses of the functionality and substrate spectra of encoded proteins which require experimental testing by classical disciplines such as physiology and biochemistry. In this review, we address the following question, how to take advantage of, and how can we improve the, metagenomic technology for accommodating the needs of microbial biologists and enzymologists?     

PCR-DGGE Comparison of Bacterial Community Structure in Fresh and Archived Soils Sampled along a Chihuahuan Desert Elevational Gradient

The polymerase chain reaction coupled with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) has been used widely to determine species richness and structure of microbial communities in a variety of environments. Researchers commonly archive soil samples after routine chemical or microbial analyses, and applying PCR-DGGE technology to these historical samples offers evaluation of long-term patterns in bacterial species richness and community structure that was not available with previous technology. However, use of PCR-DGGE to analyze microbial communities of archived soils has been largely unexplored. To evaluate the stability of DGGE patterns in archived soils in comparison with fresh soils, fresh and archived soils from five sites along an elevational gradient in the Chihuahuan Desert were compared using PCR-DGGE of 16S rDNA. DNA from all archived samples was extracted reliably, but DNA in archived soils collected from a closed-canopy oak forest site could not be amplified. DNA extraction yields were lower for most archived soils, but minimal changes in bacterial species richness and structure due to archiving were noted in bacterial community profiles from four sites. Use of archived soils to determine long-term changes in bacterial community structure via PCR-DGGE appears to be a viable option for addressing microbial community dynamics for particular ecosystems or landscapes.     

Microarray-based analysis of subnanogram quantities of microbial community DNAs by using whole-community genome amplification

Microarray technology provides the opportunity to identify thousands of microbial genes or populations simultaneously, but low microbial biomass often prevents application of this technology to many natural microbial communities. We developed a whole-community genome amplification-assisted microarray detection approach based on multiple displacement amplification. The representativeness of amplification was evaluated using several types of microarrays and quantitative indexes. Representative detection of individual genes or genomes was obtained with 1 to 100 ng DNA from individual or mixed genomes, in equal or unequal abundance, and with 1 to 500 ng community DNAs from groundwater. Lower concentrations of DNA (as low as 10 fg) could be detected, but the lower template concentrations affected the representativeness of amplification. Robust quantitative detection was also observed by significant linear relationships between signal intensities and initial DNA concentrations ranging from (i) 0.04 to 125 ng (r2 = 0.65 to 0.99) for DNA from pure cultures as detected by whole-genome open reading frame arrays, (ii) 0.1 to 1,000 ng (r2 = 0.91) for genomic DNA using community genome arrays, and (iii) 0.01 to 250 ng (r2 = 0.96 to 0.98) for community DNAs from ethanol-amended groundwater using 50-mer functional gene arrays. This method allowed us to investigate the oligotrophic microbial communities in groundwater contaminated with uranium and other metals. The results indicated that microorganisms containing genes involved in contaminant degradation and immobilization are present in these communities, that their spatial distribution is heterogeneous, and that microbial diversity is greatly reduced in the highly contaminated environment.     

Microarray-Based Analysis of Subnanogram Quantities of Microbial Community DNAs by Using Whole-Community Genome Amplification

Microarray technology provides the opportunity to identify thousands of microbial genes or populations simultaneously, but low microbial biomass often prevents application of this technology to many natural microbial communities. We developed a whole-community genome amplification-assisted microarray detection approach based on multiple displacement amplification. The representativeness of amplification was evaluated using several types of microarrays and quantitative indexes. Representative detection of individual genes or genomes was obtained with 1 to 100 ng DNA from individual or mixed genomes, in equal or unequal abundance, and with 1 to 500 ng community DNAs from groundwater. Lower concentrations of DNA (as low as 10 fg) could be detected, but the lower template concentrations affected the representativeness of amplification. Robust quantitative detection was also observed by significant linear relationships between signal intensities and initial DNA concentrations ranging from (i) 0.04 to 125 ng (r² = 0.65 to 0.99) for DNA from pure cultures as detected by whole-genome open reading frame arrays, (ii) 0.1 to 1,000 ng (r² = 0.91) for genomic DNA using community genome arrays, and (iii) 0.01 to 250 ng (r² = 0.96 to 0.98) for community DNAs from ethanol-amended groundwater using 50-mer functional gene arrays. This method allowed us to investigate the oligotrophic microbial communities in groundwater contaminated with uranium and other metals. The results indicated that microorganisms containing genes involved in contaminant degradation and immobilization are present in these communities, that their spatial distribution is heterogeneous, and that microbial diversity is greatly reduced in the highly contaminated environment.     

DNA based biosensors

Compared to advances in enzyme sensors, immunosensors, and microbial biosensors, relatively little work exists on DNA based biosensors. Here we review the DNA based biosensors that rely on nucleic acid hybridization. Major types DNA biosensors--electrochemical, optical, acoustic, and piezoelectric--are introduced and compared. The specificity and response characteristics of DNA biosensors are discussed. Overall, a promising future is foreseen for the DNA based sensor technology.     

环境DNA技术在地下生态学中的应用

地下生态过程是生态系统结构、功能和过程研究中最不确定的因素。由于技术和方法的限制,作为"黑箱"的地下生态系统已经成为限制生态学发展的瓶颈,也是未来生态学发展的主要方向。环境DNA技术,是指从土壤等环境样品中直接提取DNA片段,然后通过DNA测序技术来定性或定量化目标生物,以确定目标生物在生态系统中的分布及功能特征。环境DNA技术已成功用于地下生态过程的研究。目前,环境DNA技术在土壤微生物多样性及其功能方面的研究相对成熟,克服了土壤微生物研究中不能培养的问题,可以有效地分析土壤微生物的群落组成、多样性及空间分布,尤其是宏基因组学技术的发展,使得微生物生态功能方面的研究成为可能;而且,环境DNA技术已经在土壤动物生态学的研究中得到了初步应用,可快速分析土壤动物的多样性及其分布特征,更有效地鉴定出未知的或稀少的物种,鉴定土壤动物类群的幅度较宽;部分研究者通过提取分析土壤中DNA片段信息对生态系统植物多样性及植物分类进行了研究,其结果比传统的植物分类及物种多样性测定更精确,改变了以往对植物群落物种多样性模式的理解。同时,环境DNA技术克服传统根系研究方法中需要洗根、分根、只能测定单物种根系的局限,降低根系研究中细根区分的误差,并探索性地用于细根生物量的研究。主要综述了基于环境DNA技术的分子生物学方法在土壤微生物多样性及功能、土壤动物多样性、地下植物多样性及根系生态等地下生态过程研究中的应用进展。环境DNA技术对于以土壤微生物、土壤动物及地下植物根系为主体的地下生态学过程的研究具有革命性意义,并展现出良好的应用前景。可以预期,分子生物学技术与传统的生态学研究相结合将成为未来地下生态学研究的一个发展趋势。     

Construction of bacterial artificial chromosome library from electrochemical microorganisms

A microbial fuel cell is a device that directly converts metabolic energy into electricity, using electrochemical technology. The analysis of large genome fragments recovered directly from microbial communities represents one promising approach to characterizing uncultivated electrochemical microorganisms. To further assess the utility of this approach, we constructed large-insert (140 kb) bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) libraries from the genomic DNA of a microbial fuel cell, which had been operated for three weeks using acetate media. We screened the expression of several ferric reductase activities in the Escherichia coli host, in order to determine the extent of heterologous expression of metal-ion-reducing enzymes in the library. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences recovered from the BAC libraries indicates that they contain DNA from a wide diversity of microbial organisms. The constructed bacterial library proved a powerful tool for exploring metal-ion reductase activities, providing information on the electron transport pathway of electrochemical microbial (ECM) organisms.     

Microbes in food processing technology

Abstract: There is an increasing understanding that the microbial quality of a certain food is the result of a chain of events. It is clear that the microbial safety of food can only be guaranteed when the overall processing, including the production of raw materials, distribution and handling by the consumer are taken into consideration. Therefore, the microbiological quality assurance of foods is not only a matter of control, but also of a careful design of the total process chain. Food industry has now generally adapted quality assurance systems and is implementing the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) concept. Rapid microbiological monitoring systems should be used in these cases. There is a need for rapid and simple microbiological tests which can be adapted to the technology and logistics of specific production processes. Traditional microbiological methods generally do not meet these high requirements. This paper discusses the tests, based on molecular biological principles, to detect and identify microbes in food-processing chains. Tests based on DNA technology are discussed, including in vitro DNA amplification like the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method and identifications based on RFLP, RAPD and DNA fingerprinting analysis. PCR-haled methodology can be used for the rapid detection of microbes in food manufacturing environments. In addition, DNA fingerprinting methods are suitable for investigating sources and routes of microbial contamination in the food cycle.     

微生物大片段DNA染色体整合技术研究进展

现代生物发酵工业聚焦于设计和创制高效的微生物细胞工厂,以实现原料向目标产品的定向转化。评判微生物细胞工厂性能优劣的主要标准是其合成能力及稳定性。由于质粒系统存在拷贝数不稳定、易于丢失等局限性,在菌株改造中将基因或产物合成途径整合至染色体上实现稳定表达通常是更优的选择。因此,染色体的基因整合技术作为实现这一目标的重要手段已受到广泛关注,并得到快速发展。本综述梳理了近年来微生物染色体上的大片段DNA整合方法的研究进展,归纳了各种技术的原理和特点,尤其是新兴的CRISPR相关转座系统,同时对未来的发展重点和方向进行了展望。     

Environmental implications of recombinant DNA technology

Applications of recombinant DNA technology are discussed as a backdrop for evaluation of the environmental impacts of this technology. Some of applications include using traditional biological techniques for specific purposes, including nitrogen fixation, microbial pesticides, and waste treatment. In these instances the final product lies along a continuum, beginning with an organism marginally performing its function, and ending with one that is highly specialised and very efficient in what it does. One may move along this continuum toward the ‘perfect’ microorganism by using traditional methodologies of mutagenesis and selection, recombinant DNA technology, or a combination of the two.     

Assessing populations of a disease suppressive microorganism and a plant pathogen using DNA arrays

Understanding the relationships between disease suppressive microbial populations and plant pathogens is essential to develop procedures for effective and consistent disease control. Currently, DNA array technology is the most suitable technique to simultaneously detect multiple microorganisms. Although this technology has been successfully applied for diagnostic purposes, its utility to assess different microbial populations, as a basis for further study of population dynamics and their potential interactions, has not yet been investigated. In this study, a DNA macroarray with multiple levels of phylogenetic specificity was developed to measure population densities of a specific disease suppressive microorganism, Trichoderma hamatum isolate 382, and the plant pathogen Rhizoctonia solani. Amongst others, the DNA array contained genus-, species- and isolate-specific detector oligonucleotides and was optimized for sensitive detection and reliable quantification of the target organisms in potting mix samples. Furthermore, this DNA array was used to quantify disease severity as well as incidence of severe disease based on pathogen population densities in the growing medium. Taking into account the unlimited expanding possibilities of DNA arrays to include detector oligonucleotides for other and more microorganisms, this technique has the potential for studying the population dynamics and ecology of several target populations in a single assay.     

基因芯片技术在检测肠道致病菌方面的应用

基因芯片技术具有高通量、自动化、快速检测等特点,因此被广泛地应用于各种研究领域,如细菌分子流行病学、细菌基因鉴定、致病分子机理、基因突变及多态性分析、表达谱分析、DNA测序和药物筛选等。现介绍基因芯片检测肠道致病菌方面的国外研究进展,基因芯片应用于检测肠道致病菌的3个方面:结合多重PCR对致病菌的毒力因子或者特异性基因进行鉴定;直接检测细菌的DNA或者RNA;以致病细菌核糖体RNA作为检测的靶基因同时检测多种肠道致病菌。由于其检测的高效率,该技术要优于其他分子生物学检测方法。基因芯片技术在肠道致病菌检测中有着巨大的应用价值,具有广阔的应用前景。     

Multipathogen oligonucleotide microarray for environmental and biodefense applications

Food-borne pathogens are a major health problem. The large and diverse number of microbial pathogens and their virulence factors has fueled interest in technologies capable of detecting multiple pathogens and multiple virulence factors simultaneously. Some of these pathogens and their toxins have potential use as bioweapons. DNA microarray technology allows the simultaneous analysis of thousands of sequences of DNA in a relatively short time, making it appropriate for biodefense and for public health uses. This paper describes methods for using DNA microarrays to detect and analyze microbial pathogens. The FDA-1 microarray was developed for the simultaneous detection of several food-borne pathogens and their virulence factors including Listeria spp., Campylobacter spp., Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin genes and Clostridium perfringens toxin genes. Three elements were incorporated to increase confidence in the microarray detection system: redundancy of genes, redundancy of oligonucleotide probes (oligoprobes) for a specific gene, and quality control oligoprobes to monitor array spotting and target DNA hybridization. These elements enhance the reliability of detection and reduce the chance of erroneous results due to the genetic variability of microbes or technical problems with the microarray. The results presented demonstrate the potential of oligonucleotide microarrays for detection of environmental and biodefense relevant microbial pathogens.     

Environmental microbiology-on-a-chip and its future impacts

Rapid advances in microfabrication, DNA and protein microarray and microfluidic technologies have enabled the development of fully-integrated, miniaturized systems. These so called 'laboratory-on-a-chip' (LOC) devices perform sample preparation (i.e. concentration, separation and purification) together with biochemical reactions and detection steps in a simple and automated manner. We believe LOC technology for environmental microbiology studies will have immediate impacts on microbial monitoring by achieving detection and identification within minutes at the single-cell level, and on microbial ecology by deepening the understanding of microbial community structure and diversity and correlating these with niche-specific functions within a micro space. In the long run, significant impacts are anticipated on environmental metagenomics and proteomics.     

Use of molecular techniques in bioremediation

In a practical sense, biotechnology is concerned with the production of commercial products generated by biological processes. More formally, biotechnology may be defined as "the application of scientific and engineering principles to the processing of material by biological agents to provide goods and services" (Cantor, 2000). From a historical perspective, biotechnology dates back to the time when yeast was first used for beer or wine fermentation, and bacteria were used to make yogurt. In 1972, the birth of recombinant DNA technology moved biotechnology to new heights and led to the establishment of a new industry. Progress in biotechnology has been truly remarkable. Within four years of the discovery of recombinant DNA technology, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) were making human insulin, interferon, and human growth hormone. Now, recombinant DNA technology and its products--GMOs are widely used in environmental biotechnology (Glick and Pasternak, 1988; Cowan, 2000). Bioremediation is one of the most rapidly growing areas of environmental biotechnology. Use of bioremediation for environmental clean up is popular due to low costs and its public acceptability. Indeed, bioremediation stands to benefit greatly and advance even more rapidly with the adoption of molecular techniques developed originally for other areas of biotechnology. The 1990s was the decade of molecular microbial ecology (time of using molecular techniques in environmental biotechnology). Adoption of these molecular techniques made scientists realize that microbial populations in the natural environments are much more diverse than previously thought using traditional culture methods. Using molecular ecological methods, such as direct DNA isolation from environmental samples, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), PCR methods, nucleic acid hybridization etc., we can now study microbial consortia relevant to pollutant degradation in the environment. These techniques promise to provide a better understanding and better control of environmental biotechnology processes, thus enabling more cost effective and efficient bioremediation of our toxic waste and contaminated environments.