Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Visualizing Methane-Cycling Microbial Dynamics in Coastal Wetlands
Published on: January 31, 2025
Methanobrevibacter ruminantium as an indicator of domesticated-ruminant fecal pollution in surface waters
Jennifer A Ufnar1, Shiao Y Wang, David F Ufnar
1Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi 39406, USA. jennifer.a.ufnar@vanderbilt.edu
Abstract:
A PCR-based assay (Mrnif) targeting the nifH gene of Methanobrevibacter ruminantium was developed to detect fecal pollution from domesticated ruminants in environmental water samples. The assay produced the expected amplification product only when the reaction mixture contained DNA extracted from M. ruminantium culture, bovine (80%), sheep (100%), and goat (75%) feces, and water samples from a bovine waste lagoon (100%) and a creek contaminated with bovine lagoon waste (100%). The assay appears to be specific and sensitive and can distinguish between domesticated- and nondomesticated-ruminant fecal pollution in environmental samples.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Microbes and Methanogenesis
Microbial Wastewater Treatment
Overview of Archaea
Microbes and Climate Change
Microbial Bioremediation of Hydrocarbons
Microbiota of the Large Intestine

