High abundance of JS-1- and Chloroflexi-related Bacteria in deeply buried marine sediments revealed by quantitative, real-time PCR.
Sequences of members of the bacterial candidate division JS-1 and the classes Anaerolineae and Caldilineae of the phylum Chloroflexi are frequently found in 16S rRNA gene clone libraries obtained from marine sediments. Using a newly designed quantitative, real-time PCR assay, these bacterial groups were jointly quantified in samples from near-surface and deeply buried marine sediments from the Peru margin, the Black Sea, and a forearc basin off the island of Sumatra. In near-surface sediments, sequences of the JS-1 as well as Anaerolineae- and Caldilineae-related Bacteria were quantified with significantly lower 16S rRNA gene copy numbers than the sequences of total Bacteria. In contrast, in deeply buried sediments below approximately 1 m depth, similar quantities of the 16S rRNA gene copies of these specific groups and Bacteria were found. This finding indicates that JS-1 and Anaerolineae- and Caldilineae-related Bacteria might dominate the bacterial community in deeply buried marine sediments and thus seem to play an important ecological role in the deep biosphere.
Blazejak
Anna
A
Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, Hannover, Germany. Anna.Blazejak@gmx.de
Schippers
Axel
A
D041862:Chloroflexi / Q000235:genetics*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000382:microbiology*; D007214:Indonesia; D010568:Peru; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012623:Seawater / Q000382:microbiology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014871:Water Microbiology
D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S