Use of Molecular Techniques to Assess Diversity Among the Bdellovibrios

利用分子技术评估蛭弧菌的多样性

• 批准号: 9731055
• 负责人: Henry Williams
• 金额: $ 6万
• 依托单位: University of Maryland at Baltimore
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1998
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1998-03-15 至 2000-02-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9731055&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Use; Molecular; Techniques; Assess; Diversity

Bdellovibrios are procaryotic predators which prey on susceptible gram negative bacilli basteria. The unique predatory and intraperiplasmic growth phase makes the lifestyle of the bdellovibrios different from that of other bacteria and places these organisms in a distinctive class. Although the bdellovibrios are widely distributed in nature, little is known about the diversity of the organisms in various ecosystems. Characterization of different isolates of the predatory bacteria has been insufficient to allow for more than a rudimentary classification scheme and taxonomic system. The halophilic group of the bdellovibrios are all placed in one group in the existing system. This situation exists because state of-the art molecular methods used to differentiate among bacterial species and subspecies have not been applied to the study of these organisms. The aim of this project is to use the available molecular fingerprinting and ribosomal RNA sequencing techniques to differentiate among over 40 isolates of bdellovibrios in Dr. Williams' collection, which is the most extensive one known. Isolates in this collection were obtained from various environmental sources from wide geographical areas of the world including the Chesapeake Bay, coastal waters of St. Johns Island in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, Bermuda, Hawaii, several isolates from soil, sewage and rivers in Russia and water and soil samples from Nigeria. Another major aim of this project, which is consistent with those of the Minority Career Advancement Award, is to provide the Principal Investigator with the opportunity to develop expertise in the application of molecular techniques to his area of expertise, the ecology of the bdellovibrios.

蛭弧菌是捕食敏感革兰氏阴性杆菌的原核捕食者。独特的捕食性和周质内生长阶段使得蛭弧菌的生活方式不同于其他细菌，并将这些生物体置于一个独特的类别中。蛭弧菌在自然界中分布广泛，但其在不同生态系统中的多样性却知之甚少。 对捕食性细菌不同分离株的表征不足以提供一个基本的分类方案和分类系统。在现有的系统中，蛭弧菌的嗜盐基团都被置于一个组中。这种情况的存在是因为用于区分细菌种和亚种的最新分子方法尚未应用于这些生物体的研究。 本项目的目的是利用现有的分子指纹和核糖体RNA测序技术来区分威廉姆斯博士收藏的40多株蛭弧菌，这是已知的最广泛的一种。本样本中的分离株来自世界广泛地理区域的各种环境来源，包括切萨皮克湾、加勒比海约翰斯岛沿海沃茨、波多黎各、百慕大、夏威夷、俄罗斯土壤、污水和河流中的几种分离株以及尼日利亚的水和土壤样本。 该项目的另一个主要目的与少数民族职业发展奖的目的一致，是为主要研究员提供机会，使其能够在其专业领域-蛭弧菌生态学-中发展分子技术应用方面的专门知识。