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Probing individual environmental bacteria for viruses by using microfluidic digital PCR.
Arbel D Tadmor1, Elizabeth A Ottesen, Jared R Leadbetter
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA. arbel@caltech.edu
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|July 2, 2011
Summary
Researchers linked single bacterial cells to viral marker genes using microfluidic digital polymerase chain reaction (PCR). This revealed specific virus-host interactions within termite gut microbes, showing limited gene transfer between closely related bacteria.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Virology
- Genomics
Background:
- Viruses are abundant but their hosts remain largely unknown.
- Metagenomic and isolation techniques have limitations in identifying virus-host relationships.
- Understanding virus-bacterium interactions is crucial for microbial ecology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a method for linking single microbial cells with viral genetic material.
- To investigate virus-host specificity in a natural microbial community.
- To assess the extent of viral gene transfer among proximate bacterial hosts.
Main Methods:
- Utilized microfluidic digital polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to physically associate single bacterial cells with viral marker genes.
- Applied the technique to the microbial community of a termite hindgut.
- Analyzed viral marker allelic diversity to infer gene transfer patterns.
Main Results:
- Identified genus-wide virus infection patterns with high intragenus selectivity.
- Observed restricted mixing of viral marker alleles between bacterial hosts.
- Demonstrated limited lateral gene transfer of viral alleles despite close host proximity.
Conclusions:
- The microfluidic digital PCR approach effectively links viruses to their hosts without culturing.
- Virus-bacterium interactions in the termite gut exhibit significant host specificity.
- Lateral gene transfer of viral markers is limited even among closely related, co-existing bacteria.
