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In situ identification of micro-organisms by whole cell hybridization with rRNA-targeted nucleic acid probes

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Molecular Microbial Ecology Manual

Abstract

The sequencing of 16S and 23S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) molecules is currently the gold standard for the classification of new microbial isolates. Comparative analyses of these sequences are for the first time in the history of microbiology facilitating the reconstruction of universal phylogenetic trees [38]. Among many other important findings the work of Carl Woese and his colleagues demonstrated that only certain (by far not all) phenotypic/physiological groups of micro-organisms are monophyletic (e.g., methanogenes, cyanobacteria, spirochetes). About 10 years ago it has been proposed to use an rRNA approach for studies in microbial ecology [21]. The microbial diversity should be analyzed in a cultivation-independent way by direct rRNA sequence retrieval, whereas nucleic acid probes complementary to rRNA or rRNA genes should be the tools to monitor population dynamics in the environmental samples. By their own nature rRNA-targeted probes track genotypes which are not necessarily linked to one phenotype. Microbial ecologists who want to apply this approach to investigate correlations between community structures and functions should be aware of this fact and design or apply rRNA-targeted probes accordingly.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Technical University of Munich, D-80290, Munich, Germany

    Rudolf I. Amann

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  1. Rudolf I. Amann
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Wageningen Agricultural University, The Netherlands

    Antoon D. L. Akkermans

  2. IPO-DLO, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Jan Dirk Van Elsas

  3. MSU-DOE Plant Research Lab, NSF Center for Microbial Ecology and Department of Microbiology, Michigan State University, USA

    Frans J. De Bruijn

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© 1995 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Amann, R.I. (1995). In situ identification of micro-organisms by whole cell hybridization with rRNA-targeted nucleic acid probes. In: Akkermans, A.D.L., Van Elsas, J.D., De Bruijn, F.J. (eds) Molecular Microbial Ecology Manual. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0351-0_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0351-0_23

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-4156-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-0351-0

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