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Screening and Isolation of PHB-Producing Bacteria in a Polluted Marine Microbial Mat

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Abstract

The characteristics of microbial mats within the waste stream from a seafood cannery were compared to a microbial community at a pristine site near a sandy beach at Puerto San Carlos, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Isolation of poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB)-producing bacteria, recognition of brightly refractile cytoplasmatic inclusions, lipophilic stains with Sudan Black and Nile Red, and chemical extraction of PHB were used as a culture-dependent strategy for the detection of PHB-producing bacteria. The culture-independent approach included denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of phylotypes of 16S rRNA of microbial communities from environmental samples. Significant differences in community structure were found among the polluted and pristine sites. These differences were correlated with the physicochemical characteristics of the seawater column. At the polluted site, the seawater was rich in nutrients (ammonia, phosphates, and organic matter), compared to the pristine location. Partial sequencing of 16S rDNA of cultures of bacteria producing PHB included Bacillus and Staphylococcus at both sites; Paracoccus and Micrococcus were found only at the polluted site and Rhodococcus and Methylobacterium were found only at the pristine site. Bands of the sequences of 16S rDNA from both field samples in the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analyses affiliated closely only with bacterial sequences of cultures of Bacillus and Staphylococcus. High concentrations of organic and inorganic nutrients at the polluted site had a clear effect on the composition and diversity of the microbial community compared to the unpolluted site.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by CIBNOR (Project PC4.2) and SEP-CONACYT (Project 45914/A-1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Ecología Microbiana Molecular, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste (CIBNOR), Mar Bermejo 195, Colonia Playa Palo de Santa Rita, La Paz, B.C.S. 23090, Mexico

    Alejandro López-Cortés, Alberto Lanz-Landázuri & José Q. García-Maldonado

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  1. Alejandro López-Cortés
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  2. Alberto Lanz-Landázuri
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  3. José Q. García-Maldonado
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Correspondence to Alejandro López-Cortés.

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López-Cortés, A., Lanz-Landázuri, A. & García-Maldonado, J.Q. Screening and Isolation of PHB-Producing Bacteria in a Polluted Marine Microbial Mat. Microb Ecol 56, 112–120 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-007-9329-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-007-9329-8

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