Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis of virus assemblages present in a hypersaline environment.
A method for analyzing virus assemblages in aquatic environments was developed and used for studying the highest-salinity ponds (from 13.4 to 35% salinity) from a multi-pond solar saltern in Alicante, Spain. The protocol consisted of a series of concentration and purification steps including tangential flow filtration and ultracentrifugation, followed by the preparation of total viral nucleic acids that were subsequently separated by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. For every sample analyzed, a characteristic DNA pattern was obtained, whose complexity was related to viral diversity. The comparison of our results with a similar analysis carried out with marine virus assemblages shows that, as expected, the viral diversity corresponding to the analyzed hypersaline environment is considerably lower than that of a marine environment.
Díez
B
B
Department of Marine Biology and Oceanography, Institute of Marine Sciences, CSIC, Barcelona, Spain. bdiez@icm.csic.es
Antón
J
J
Guixa-Boixereu
N
N
Pedrós-Alió
C
C
Rodríguez-Valera
F
F
D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D012462:Saline Solution, Hypertonic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013030:Spain; D018406:Virus Physiological Phenomena; D014780:Viruses / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
D004279:DNA, Viral; D012462:Saline Solution, Hypertonic; D014867:Water