title: Quantification of phnAc and nahAc in contaminated new zealand soils by competitive PCR.
abstract: Unculturable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-degrading bacteria are a significant reservoir of the microbial potential to catabolize low-molecular-weight PAHs. The population of these bacteria is larger than the population of nah-like bacteria that are the dominant organisms in culture-based studies. We used the recently described phn genes of Burkholderia sp. strain RP007, which feature only rarely in culture-based studies, as an alternative genotype for naphthalene and phenanthrene degradation and compared this genotype with the genotypically distinct but ubiquitous nah-like class in different soils. Competitive PCR quantification of phnAc and nahAc, which encode the iron sulfur protein large (alpha) subunits of PAH dioxygenases in nah-like and phn catabolic operons, revealed that the phn genotype can have a greater ecological significance than the nah-like genotype.
authors.affiliation: Landcare Research, Hamilton, New Zealand.
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Laurie
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lloyd-Jones
mesh_terms: D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D019117:Burkholderia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005838:Genotype; D009281:Naphthalenes / Q000378:metabolism; D009520:New Zealand; D010616:Phenanthrenes / Q000378:metabolism; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000378:metabolism*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D012989:Soil Pollutants
chemical_list: D009281:Naphthalenes; D010616:Phenanthrenes; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D012989:Soil Pollutants; C031721:naphthalene; C031181:phenanthrene