title: In situ PCR for visualizing distribution of a functional gene "amoA" in a biofilm regardless of activity.
abstract: In this study, ammonia-oxidizing bacteria present in biofilms resulting from a nitrifying reactor were detected by both a conventional FISH technique and an original in situ PCR technique. Both techniques showed that ammonia-oxidizing bacteria were found near the surface of the biofilms. However, after the biofilm had been exposed to 2 weeks of ammonia starvation, ammonia-oxidizing bacteria present in the biofilm could not be detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) because they did not have sufficient copies of rRNA. In contrast, ammonia-oxidizing bacteria could be detected by in situ PCR with strong signal. It was thus demonstrated that a cell possessing a specific functional gene is detectable by in situ PCR regardless of its activity.
mesh_terms: D000641:Ammonia / Q000378:metabolism*; D018441:Biofilms; D019149:Bioreactors; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D009841:Oligonucleotides / Q000235:genetics; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000235:genetics; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D009841:Oligonucleotides; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D000641:Ammonia; D010088:Oxidoreductases; C045582:ammonia monooxygenase