Quantitative Detection of Syntrophic Fatty Acid-degrading Bacterial Communities in Methanogenic Environments

Authors

Prince Peter Mathai, Marquette UniversityFollow
Daniel Zitomer, Marquette UniversityFollow
James Maki, Marquette UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Language

eng

Format of Original

9 p.

Publication Date

6-2015

Publisher

Society for General Microbiology

Source Publication

Microbiology

Source ISSN

1350-0872

Original Item ID

DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.000085

Abstract

In methanogenic habitats, volatile fatty acids (VFA), such as propionate and butyrate, are major intermediates in organic matter degradation. VFA are further metabolized to H2, acetate and CO2 by syntrophic fatty acid-degrading bacteria (SFAB) in association with methanogenic archaea. Despite their indispensable role in VFA degradation, little is known about SFAB abundance and their environmental distribution. To facilitate ecological studies, we developed four novel genus-specific quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays, with primer sets targeting known SFAB: Syntrophobacter, Smithella, Pelotomaculum and Syntrophomonas. Primer set specificity was confirmed using in silico and experimental (target controls, clone libraries and melt-curve analysis) approaches. These qPCR assays were applied to quantify SFAB in a variety of mesophilic methanogenic habitats, including a laboratory propionate enrichment culture, pilotand full-scale anaerobic reactors, cow rumen, horse faeces, an experimental rice paddy soil, a bog stream and swamp sediments. The highest SFAB 16S rRNA gene copy numbers were found in the propionate enrichment culture and anaerobic reactors, followed by the bog stream and swamp sediment samples. In addition, it was observed that SFAB and methanogen abundance varied with reactor configuration and substrate identity. To our knowledge, this research represents the first comprehensive study to quantify SFAB in methanogenic habitats using qPCR-based methods. These molecular tools will help investigators better understand syntrophic microbial communities in engineered and natural environments.

Comments

Accepted version. Microbiology, Vol 161, No. 6 (June 2015): 1189-1197. DOI. © 2015 Society for General Microbiology. Used with permission.

Recommended Citation

Mathai, Prince Peter; Zitomer, Daniel; and Maki, James, "Quantitative Detection of Syntrophic Fatty Acid-degrading Bacterial Communities in Methanogenic Environments" (2015). Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications. 519.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/bio_fac/519