DNA-based stable isotope probing coupled with cultivation methods implicates Methylophaga in hydrocarbon degradation.

ABSTRACT: Marine hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria perform a fundamental role in the oxidation and ultimate removal of crude oil and its petrochemical derivatives in coastal and open ocean environments. Those with an almost exclusive ability to utilize hydrocarbons as a sole carbon and energy source have been found confined to just a few genera. Here we used stable isotope probing (SIP), a valuable tool to link the phylogeny and function of targeted microbial groups, to investigate hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria in coastal North Carolina sea water (Beaufort Inlet, USA) with uniformly labeled [(13)C]n-hexadecane. The dominant sequences in clone libraries constructed from (13)C-enriched bacterial DNA (from n-hexadecane enrichments) were identified to belong to the genus Alcanivorax, with ≤98% sequence id

SUBMITTER: Mishamandani S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3936186 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature