基于16S rRNA基因测序分析微生物群落多样性

微生物群落多样性的研究对于挖掘微生物资源,探索微生物群落功能,阐明微生物群落与生境间的关系具有重要意义。随着宏基因组概念的提出以及测序技术的快速发展,16S rRNA基因测序在微生物群落多样性的研究中已被广泛应用。文中系统地介绍了16S rRNA基因测序分析流程中的四个重要环节,包括测序平台与扩增区的选择、测序数据预处理以及多样性分析方法,就其面临的问题与挑战进行了探讨并对未来的研究方向进行了展望,以期为微生物群落多样性相关研究提供参考。     

SMRT测序技术及其在微生物研究中的应用

高通量测序技术的发展为研究者深入探索微生物世界提供可能。随着以Pacific Bio Sciences(PacBio)公司的单分子实时测序(Single molecule real time sequencing,SMRT)为代表的第三代测序(Third generation sequencing,TGS)技术逐渐发展成熟,微生物研究方法正面临又一次新的变革。SMRT测序技术凭借其特殊建库方式(SMRTbell)和超长的测序读长等特点,为微生物16S rRNA基因全长测序提供新的选择。同时,为组装完整可靠的宏基因组和微生物全基因组提供新方法。随着PacBio测序平台的成本大幅下降,SMRT测序技术的PacBio系列平台开始逐渐被应用于微生物16S rRNA基因测序、宏基因组测序和全基因组测序研究中。综述了SMRT测序技术的技术原理和特点及其在微生物16S rRNA基因全长测序、宏基因组测序等方面的应用,并分析了目前SMRT测序技术在微生物各方面研究中的优势和存在的问题,提出基于SMRT测序技术获得的长片段在后期分析中存在的问题。SMRT测序技术将越来越多地引入到微生物研究中,期望为将要选择使用SMRT测序技术研究微生物的研究人员提供一定参考。     

微生物分子生态学研究方法的新进展

环境中微生物的群落结构及多样性和微生物的功能及代谢机理是微生物生态学的研究热点,长期以来,由于受到研究技术的限制,对微生物的群落结构和多样性的认识还不全面,微生物的功能及代谢机理方面了解也很少.随着高通量测序、基因芯片等新技术的不断更新,微生物分子生态学的研究方法和研究途径也在不断变化.高通量测序技术改变了微生物多样性、宏基因组学和宏转录组学的研究方法,GeoChip高密度覆盖海量已知功能的基因探针于单张芯片,能快速确定微生物和已知功能基因的存在与否.总结和比较了目前最新的研究手段,并归纳了这些方法的适用性和优缺点.     

微生物分子生态学发展历史及研究现状

微生物群落多样性是微生物生态学和环境学研究的重点之一。分子生物学方法应用于微生物群落结构分析使得对环境样品中占大多数的不可培养微生物的研究成为了可能。由于功能上高度保守,序列上的不同位置具有不同的变异速率,核糖体RNA（rRNA）是目前在微生物分子生态学上最为有用以及应用最广泛的分子标记,通过rRNA序列比对,可以分析不同分类水平的系统发育关系。元基因组学研究方法通过对环境样品中的各种微生物群落的总的基因组进行分析,充分展示了环境微生物代谢途径,极大地扩展了对微生物的认识。快速发展的高通量测序极大地促进了各项微生物生态学技术的发展,带来了新的突破。     

高通量测序和DGGE分析土壤微生物群落的技术评价

【目的】比较新一代高通量测序与传统的变性梯度凝胶电泳(Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis,DGGE)指纹图谱技术,评价两种技术研究土壤微生物群落结构的优缺点。【方法】针对新西兰典型草地和森林土壤,以16S rRNA基因为标靶,通过高通量测序和DGGE技术分析土壤微生物群落的组成、丰度和多样性,比较两种方法在土壤微生物研究中的适用性。【结果】在不同的微生物分类水平,高通量测序草地土壤检测到22门,54纲,60目,131科,350属;而DGGE仅检测到6门,9纲,8目,10科,10属,表明DGGE显著低估了土壤微生物的群落组成。森林土壤也得到了类似规律,高通量测序的检测灵敏度是DGGE的3.8、6.7、6.4、19.2及39.4倍。进一步分析土壤中主要微生物类群的相对丰度,发现分类水平越低,高通量测序与DGGE的结果差异越大,尤其在科和属的水平上差异最大。以高通量测序结果为标准,DGGE明显高估了土壤中大多数微生物类群的相对丰度,最高可达2000倍。两种方法都表明草地土壤的多样性指数高于森林土壤,但DGGE多样性指数的绝对值远低于高通量测序结果。【结论】高通量测序能够较为全面和准确的反映土壤微生物群落结构,而DGGE仅能够反映有限的优势微生物类群,在很大程度上极可能低估土壤微生物的物种组成并高估其丰度。     

基于SMRT测序技术的16S rRNA基因全长测序及其分析方法

被称为第三代测序技术的单分子测序是最近几年发展起来的高通量测序技术。其中,由Pacbio Bio Sciences公司开发的单分子实时测序技术(SMRT)是最先商用的技术。SMRT测序技术通过对模板序列循环测序产生环形一致序列(CCS),成功克服第三代测序技术准确率低的弊病。通过SMRT测序技术,科学家可以更深入准确地探究复杂环境微生物的结构和功能。介绍SMRT测序技术在微生物16S rRNA基因测序中的优势和劣势,并就基于SMRT测序技术所得的全长16S rRNA基因序列的质量控制、错误序列排除、聚类和注释分析等重要分析环节进行概述,同时,提出利用SMRT测序技术研究复杂环境微生物可能存在的问题及其解决方法,期望能为研究人员提供参考。     

转基因鲤鱼与对照鲤肠道微生物群落差异研究

以转“全鱼”生长激素基因鲤(Cyprinus carpio L.)和野生对照鲤为对象, 采用454高通量测序技术对其肠道微生物16S rRNA基因进行测序并分析了3个不同发育阶段微生物群落结构的变化, 进而探讨了转基因鲤与对照鲤肠道微生物群落的差异。基于转基因鲤和对照鲤不同发育时期(6日龄、2月龄、5月龄)肠道微生物群落组成的DCA排序分析显示, 2月龄转基因鲤与对照鲤肠道微生物组成不同。Alpha多样性及均匀度都显示转基因鲤肠道微生物多样性高于对照鲤。从门水平的比较分析发现, 转基因鲤肠道中存在较多的厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)细菌, 而对照鲤中拟杆菌门(Bacteroidetes)细菌较多, 其中2月龄转基因鲤肠道内Bacteroidetes/Firmicutes比值低于对照鲤。研究结果表明, 在所分析的3个发育时期, 转基因鲤的肠道微生物组成与对照鲤相比发生了改变, 且在2月龄时存在差异。该研究为进一步揭示转基因鱼肠道微生物与宿主的相互影响和作用机制提供了很好的参考。     

普洱地区茶叶内生细菌与根际土壤细菌群落结构分析

[目的]茶叶内生细菌、根际土壤细菌在普洱茶的发酵中起着重要的作用,还可以促进茶树生长,诱导茶树抗病性.研究其群落结构组成及相互关系可为微生物资源开发利用提供理论依据.[方法]本研究以普洱地区茶树叶片和根际土壤为材料,采用高通量测序技术,对茶叶及根际土壤细菌的16S核糖体RNA基因(16S rRNA)进行测序,比较分析茶...     

基于分子标记的宏基因组16S rRNA基因高变区选择策略

随着新一代DNA测序技术出现,人们能够同时对多个DNA样本的宏基因组进行并行分析,尤其是以16S rRNA基因高变区为分子标记的测序已经成为微生物多样性研究最为简洁有效的方法. 目前二代高通量测序的读长不能覆盖16S rRNA基因的全长,需要选择一个有效的高变区进行测序.十多年来,对于16S rRNA基因高变区的选择策略没有统一的标准.本文分析了常用的高变区选择策略,指出不同环境条件是影响高变区选择的重要因素之一.在此基础上,提出了高变区选择的参考准则,同时建议应对选择的高变区进行有效评估.     

基于不同通用引物比较分析肠道微生物群落变化

肠道微生物对于人体健康的重要作用已经得到广泛证实,目前,对肠道微生物的研究大多采用基于扩增细菌16S rRNA基因V3-V4区的高通量测序分析,对古菌的关注较少。本研究选择了一对可以同时扩增细菌和古菌16S rRNA基因的引物,通过比较人为干扰肠道微生物前后的群落变化,说明这对引物适宜分析人类肠道细菌和古菌群落变化并具有一定优越性。采集志愿者粪便样品,同时用仅能扩增细菌引物 (B引物) 和细菌古菌通用引物 (AB引物) 进行扩增和高通量测序;使用几个常用的rRNA数据库判断引物对细菌的覆盖度和对古菌的扩增能力。结果表明,AB引物在可以展示B引物扩增出的细菌群落的基础上,可以得到肠道中常见的产甲烷古菌的序列,同时也展示出人为干扰肠道微生物前后的群落结构变化。AB引物可以仅通过一次扩增和测序同时分析肠道中的细菌和古菌群落,更加全面展示肠道微生物群落结构,适用于肠道微生物相关研究。     

Intragenomic Heterogeneity of 16S rRNA Genes Causes Overestimation of Prokaryotic Diversity

Ever since Carl Woese introduced the use of 16S rRNA genes for determining the phylogenetic relationships of prokaryotes, this method has been regarded as the “gold standard” in both microbial phylogeny and ecology studies. However, intragenomic heterogeneity within 16S rRNA genes has been reported in many investigations and is believed to bias the estimation of prokaryotic diversity. In the current study, 2,013 completely sequenced genomes of bacteria and archaea were analyzed and intragenomic heterogeneity was found in 952 genomes (585 species), with 87.5% of the divergence detected being below the 1% level. In particular, some extremophiles (thermophiles and halophiles) were found to harbor highly divergent 16S rRNA genes. Overestimation caused by 16S rRNA gene intragenomic heterogeneity was evaluated at different levels using the full-length and partial 16S rRNA genes usually chosen as targets for pyrosequencing. The result indicates that, at the unique level, full-length 16S rRNA genes can produce an overestimation of as much as 123.7%, while at the 3% level, an overestimation of 12.9% for the V6 region may be introduced. Further analysis showed that intragenomic heterogeneity tends to concentrate in specific positions, with the V1 and V6 regions suffering the most intragenomic heterogeneity and the V4 and V5 regions suffering the least intragenomic heterogeneity in bacteria. This is the most up-to-date overview of the diversity of 16S rRNA genes within prokaryotic genomes. It not only provides general guidance on how much overestimation can be introduced when applying 16S rRNA gene-based methods, due to its intragenomic heterogeneity, but also recommends that, for bacteria, this overestimation be minimized using primers targeting the V4 and V5 regions.     

Analysis of 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing options on the Roche/454 next-generation titanium sequencing platform

Background

16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing approach has revolutionized studies in microbial ecology. While primer selection and short read length can affect the resulting microbial community profile, little is known about the influence of pyrosequencing methods on the sequencing throughput and the outcome of microbial community analyses. The aim of this study is to compare differences in output, ease, and cost among three different amplicon pyrosequencing methods for the Roche/454 Titanium platform

Methodology/Principal Findings

The following three pyrosequencing methods for 16S rRNA genes were selected in this study: Method-1 (standard method) is the recommended method for bi-directional sequencing using the LIB-A kit; Method-2 is a new option designed in this study for unidirectional sequencing with the LIB-A kit; and Method-3 uses the LIB-L kit for unidirectional sequencing. In our comparison among these three methods using 10 different environmental samples, Method-2 and Method-3 produced 1.5–1.6 times more useable reads than the standard method (Method-1), after quality-based trimming, and did not compromise the outcome of microbial community analyses. Specifically, Method-3 is the most cost-effective unidirectional amplicon sequencing method as it provided the most reads and required the least effort in consumables management.

Conclusions

Our findings clearly demonstrated that alternative pyrosequencing methods for 16S rRNA genes could drastically affect sequencing output (e.g. number of reads before and after trimming) but have little effect on the outcomes of microbial community analysis. This finding is important for both researchers and sequencing facilities utilizing 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing for microbial ecological studies.     

Design and Experimental Application of a Novel Non-Degenerate Universal Primer Set that Amplifies Prokaryotic 16S rRNA Genes with a Low Possibility to Amplify Eukaryotic rRNA Genes

The deep sequencing of 16S rRNA genes amplified by universal primers has revolutionized our understanding of microbial communities by allowing the characterization of the diversity of the uncultured majority. However, some universal primers also amplify eukaryotic rRNA genes, leading to a decrease in the efficiency of sequencing of prokaryotic 16S rRNA genes with possible mischaracterization of the diversity in the microbial community. In this study, we compared 16S rRNA gene sequences from genome-sequenced strains and identified candidates for non-degenerate universal primers that could be used for the amplification of prokaryotic 16S rRNA genes. The 50 identified candidates were investigated to calculate their coverage for prokaryotic and eukaryotic rRNA genes, including those from uncultured taxa and eukaryotic organelles, and a novel universal primer set, 342F-806R, covering many prokaryotic, but not eukaryotic, rRNA genes was identified. This primer set was validated by the amplification of 16S rRNA genes from a soil metagenomic sample and subsequent pyrosequencing using the Roche 454 platform. The same sample was also used for pyrosequencing of the amplicons by employing a commonly used primer set, 338F-533R, and for shotgun metagenomic sequencing using the Illumina platform. Our comparison of the taxonomic compositions inferred by the three sequencing experiments indicated that the non-degenerate 342F-806R primer set can characterize the taxonomic composition of the microbial community without substantial bias, and is highly expected to be applicable to the analysis of a wide variety of microbial communities.     

Microbial phylogeny and diversity: Small subunit ribosomal RNA sequence analysis and beyond

Small subunit ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) gene sequence analysis is used for the identification and classification of prokaryotes. In addition, sequencing of 16S rRNA genes amplified directly from the environment is used to estimate microbial diversity. The presence of mosaicism, intra-genomic heterogeneity and the lack of a universal threshold sequence identity value limit 16S rRNA-based phylogenetic analysis. PCR-amplification bias and cloning bias can also result in an inaccurate representation of the microbial diversity. In this review, recently reported complexities of 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses and the requirement of additional tools for microbial phylogeny and diversity analyses are discussed.     

Salt marsh sediment diversity: a test of the variability of the rare biosphere among environmental replicates

Much of the phylogenetic diversity in microbial systems arises from rare taxa that comprise the long tail of taxon rank distribution curves. This vast diversity presents a challenge to testing hypotheses about the effects of perturbations on microbial community composition because variability of rare taxa among environmental replicates may be sufficiently large that it would require a prohibitive degree of sequencing to discern differences between samples. In this study we used pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA tags to examine the diversity and within-site variability of salt marsh sediment bacteria. Our goal was to determine whether pyrosequencing could produce similar patterns in community composition among replicate environmental samples from the same location. We hypothesized that repeated sampling from the same location would produce different snapshots of the rare community due to incomplete sequencing of the taxonomically rich rare biosphere. We demonstrate that the salt marsh sediments we sampled contain a remarkably diverse array of bacterial taxa and, in contrast to our hypothesis, repeated sampling from within the same site produces reliably similar patterns in bacterial community composition, even among rare organisms. These results demonstrate that deep sequencing of 16s tags is well suited to distinguish site-specific similarities and differences among rare taxa and is a valuable tool for hypothesis testing in microbial ecology.     

Reconstruction of ribosomal RNA genes from metagenomic data

Direct sequencing of environmental DNA (metagenomics) has a great potential for describing the 16S rRNA gene diversity of microbial communities. However current approaches using this 16S rRNA gene information to describe community diversity suffer from low taxonomic resolution or chimera problems. Here we describe a new strategy that involves stringent assembly and data filtering to reconstruct full-length 16S rRNA genes from metagenomicpyrosequencing data. Simulations showed that reconstructed 16S rRNA genes provided a true picture of the community diversity, had minimal rates of chimera formation and gave taxonomic resolution down to genus level. The strategy was furthermore compared to PCR-based methods to determine the microbial diversity in two marine sponges. This showed that about 30% of the abundant phylotypes reconstructed from metagenomic data failed to be amplified by PCR. Our approach is readily applicable to existing metagenomic datasets and is expected to lead to the discovery of new microbial phylotypes.     

Use of 16S rRNA and rpoB genes as molecular markers for microbial ecology studies

Several characteristics of the 16S rRNA gene, such as its essential function, ubiquity, and evolutionary properties, have allowed it to become the most commonly used molecular marker in microbial ecology. However, one fact that has been overlooked is that multiple copies of this gene are often present in a given bacterium. These intragenomic copies can differ in sequence, leading to identification of multiple ribotypes for a single organism. To evaluate the impact of such intragenomic heterogeneity on the performance of the 16S rRNA gene as a molecular marker, we compared its phylogenetic and evolutionary characteristics to those of the single-copy gene rpoB. Full-length gene sequences and gene fragments commonly used for denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis were compared at various taxonomic levels. Heterogeneity found between intragenomic 16S rRNA gene copies was concentrated in specific regions of rRNA secondary structure. Such "heterogeneity hot spots" occurred within all gene fragments commonly used in molecular microbial ecology. This intragenomic heterogeneity influenced 16S rRNA gene tree topology, phylogenetic resolution, and operational taxonomic unit estimates at the species level or below. rpoB provided comparable phylogenetic resolution to that of the 16S rRNA gene at all taxonomic levels, except between closely related organisms (species and subspecies levels), for which it provided better resolution. This is particularly relevant in the context of a growing number of studies focusing on subspecies diversity, in which single-copy protein-encoding genes such as rpoB could complement the information provided by the 16S rRNA gene.     

Use of 16S rRNA and rpoB Genes as Molecular Markers for Microbial Ecology Studies

Several characteristics of the 16S rRNA gene, such as its essential function, ubiquity, and evolutionary properties, have allowed it to become the most commonly used molecular marker in microbial ecology. However, one fact that has been overlooked is that multiple copies of this gene are often present in a given bacterium. These intragenomic copies can differ in sequence, leading to identification of multiple ribotypes for a single organism. To evaluate the impact of such intragenomic heterogeneity on the performance of the 16S rRNA gene as a molecular marker, we compared its phylogenetic and evolutionary characteristics to those of the single-copy gene rpoB. Full-length gene sequences and gene fragments commonly used for denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis were compared at various taxonomic levels. Heterogeneity found between intragenomic 16S rRNA gene copies was concentrated in specific regions of rRNA secondary structure. Such “heterogeneity hot spots” occurred within all gene fragments commonly used in molecular microbial ecology. This intragenomic heterogeneity influenced 16S rRNA gene tree topology, phylogenetic resolution, and operational taxonomic unit estimates at the species level or below. rpoB provided comparable phylogenetic resolution to that of the 16S rRNA gene at all taxonomic levels, except between closely related organisms (species and subspecies levels), for which it provided better resolution. This is particularly relevant in the context of a growing number of studies focusing on subspecies diversity, in which single-copy protein-encoding genes such as rpoB could complement the information provided by the 16S rRNA gene.