title: Identification of actinomycete  communities in Antarctic soil from Barrientos Island using PCR-denaturing  gradient gel electrophoresis.
abstract: The  diversity of specific bacteria taxa, such as the actinomycetes, has not been  reported from the Antarctic island of Barrientos. The diversity of  actinomycetes was estimated with two different strategies that use  PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. First, a PCR was applied, using a  group-specific primer that allows selective amplification of actinomycete  sequences. Second, a nested-PCR approach was used that allows the estimation of  the relative abundance of actinomycetes within the bacterial community.  Molecular identification, which was based on 16S rDNA sequence analysis,  revealed eight genera of actinomycetes, Actinobacterium, Actinomyces,  an uncultured Actinomycete, Streptomyces, Leifsonia, Frankineae, Rhodococcus, and Mycobacterium. The uncultured Actinomyces sp  and Rhodococcus sp appear to be the prominent genera of actinomycetes in  Barrientos Island soil. PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis patterns  were used to look for correlations between actinomycete abundance and  environmental characteristics, such as type of rookery and vegetation. There  was a significant positive correlation between type of rookery and abundance of  actinomycetes; soil samples collected from active chinstrap penguin rookeries  had the highest actinomycete abundance. Vegetation type, such as moss, which  could provide a microhabitat for bacteria, did not correlate significantly with  actinomycete abundance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Learn-Han
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yoke-Kqueen
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Shiran
authors.forename: C M W
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Vui-Ling
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Nurul-Syakima
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Son
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Andrade
mesh_terms: D039903:Actinobacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D000864:Antarctic Regions; D044822:Biodiversity; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D058645:Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis / Q000379:methods; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D046429:Spheniscidae / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012987:Soil