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Serological diversity within a terrestrial ammonia-oxidizing population.
1Department of Soil Science and Department of Microbiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455.
Applied and Environmental Microbiology
|October 1, 1978
Summary
Fluorescent antibodies (FAs) show genus-specific staining for ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. These tools effectively identify Nitrosomonas and Nitrosospira populations in soil samples.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Environmental Science
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria are crucial for nitrification in soil ecosystems.
- Accurate identification of these bacteria is essential for understanding nitrogen cycling.
- Fluorescent antibodies (FAs) offer a potential method for rapid bacterial identification.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the cross-reactivity of fluorescent antibodies (FAs) against various ammonia-oxidizing bacteria.
- To determine the effectiveness of a suite of FAs for studying ammonia-oxidizing bacterial populations in soil.
Main Methods:
- Preparation of FAs against 16 ammonia-oxidizing nitrifying bacteria.
- Heterologous FA staining tests to assess cross-reactivity.
- Staining of bacterial isolates from a single soil sample.
Main Results:
- FAs demonstrated high specificity, with cross-reactions largely confined within genera.
- Nitrosomonas and Nitrosolobus FAs showed more shared antigens within their genera compared to Nitrosospira.
- Four FAs effectively identified five out of seven Nitrosomonas isolates and six out of twelve Nitrosospira isolates from soil.
Conclusions:
- The developed FAs are highly specific for their target genera of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria.
- This suite of FAs is effective for identifying and studying ammonia-oxidizing bacterial populations in environmental samples.
- FA staining provides a valuable tool for microbial ecology research.