Although copious qualitative information describes the members of the diverse microbial communities on Earth, statistical approaches for quantifying and comparing the numbers and compositions of lineages in communities are lacking. We present a method that addresses the challenge of assigning sequences to operational taxonomic units (OTUs) based on the genetic distances between sequences. We developed a computer program, DOTUR, which assigns sequences to OTUs by using either the furthest, average, or nearest neighbor algorithm for each distance level. DOTUR uses the frequency at which each OTU is observed to construct rarefaction and collector's curves for various measures of richness and diversity. We analyzed 16S rRNA gene libraries derived from Scottish and Amazonian soils and the Sargasso Sea with DOTUR, which assigned sequences to OTUs rapidly and reliably based on the genetic distances between sequences and identified previous inconsistencies and errors in assigning sequences to OTUs. An analysis of the two 16S rRNA gene libraries from soil demonstrated that they do not contain enough sequences to support a claim that they contain different numbers of bacterial lineages with statistical confidence (P > 0.05), nor do they contain enough sequences to provide a robust estimate of species richness when an OTU is defined as containing sequences that are no more than 3% different from each other. In contrast, the richness of OTUs at the 3% level in the Sargasso Sea collection began to plateau after the sampling of 690 sequences. We anticipate that an equivalent extent of sampling for soil would require sampling more than 10,000 sequences, almost 100 times the size of typical sequence collections obtained from soil.

Introducing DOTUR, a Computer Program for Defining Operational Taxonomic Units and Estimating Species Richness

Nitrification, the oxidation of ammonia via nitrite to nitrate, has always been considered to be a two-step process catalysed by chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms oxidizing either ammonia or nitrite. No known nitrifier carries out both steps, although complete nitrification should be energetically advantageous. This functional separation has puzzled microbiologists for a century. Here we report on the discovery and cultivation of a completely nitrifying bacterium from the genus Nitrospira, a globally distributed group of nitrite oxidizers. The genome of this chemolithoautotrophic organism encodes the pathways both for ammonia and nitrite oxidation, which are concomitantly activated during growth by ammonia oxidation to nitrate. Genes affiliated with the phylogenetically distinct ammonia monooxygenase and hydroxylamine dehydrogenase genes of Nitrospira are present in many environments and were retrieved on Nitrospira-contigs in new metagenomes from engineered systems. These findings fundamentally change our picture of nitrification and point to completely nitrifying Nitrospira as key components of nitrogen-cycling microbial communities.

/pdf/complete-nitrification-by-nitrospira-bacteria-3721dnl3r5.pdf

Complete nitrification by Nitrospira bacteria

Nitrification is a two-step process where ammonia is first oxidized to nitrite by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and/or archaea, and subsequently to nitrate by nitrite-oxidizing bacteria. Already described by Winogradsky in 18901, this division of labour between the two functional groups is a generally accepted characteristic of the biogeochemical nitrogen cycle2. Complete oxidation of ammonia to nitrate in one organism (complete ammonia oxidation; comammox) is energetically feasible, and it was postulated that this process could occur under conditions selecting for species with lower growth rates but higher growth yields than canonical ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms3. Still, organisms catalysing this process have not yet been discovered. Here we report the enrichment and initial characterization of two Nitrospira species that encode all the enzymes necessary for ammonia oxidation via nitrite to nitrate in their genomes, and indeed completely oxidize ammonium to nitrate to conserve energy. Their ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) enzymes are phylogenetically distinct from currently identified AMOs, rendering recent acquisition by horizontal gene transfer from known ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms unlikely. We also found highly similar amoA sequences (encoding the AMO subunit A) in public sequence databases, which were apparently misclassified as methane monooxygenases. This recognition of a novel amoA sequence group will lead to an improved understanding of the environmental abundance and distribution of ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms. Furthermore, the discovery of the long-sought-after comammox process will change our perception of the nitrogen cycle.

/pdf/complete-nitrification-by-a-single-microorganism-3ygla3blqe.pdf

Complete nitrification by a single microorganism

The ecology of Cytophaga–Flavobacteria in aquatic environments

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-labeled oligonucleotide probes and tyramide signal amplification, also known as catalyzed reporter deposition (CARD), is currently not generally applicable to heterotrophic bacteria in marine samples. Penetration of the HRP molecule into bacterial cells requires permeabilization procedures that cause high and most probably species-selective cell loss. Here we present an improved protocol for CARD-FISH of marine planktonic and benthic microbial assemblages. After concentration of samples onto membrane filters and subsequent embedding of filters in low-gelling-point agarose, no decrease in bacterial cell numbers was observed during 90 min of lysozyme incubation (10 mg ml−1 at 37°C). The detection rates of coastal North Sea bacterioplankton by CARD-FISH with a general bacterial probe (EUB338-HRP) were significantly higher (mean, 94% of total cell counts; range, 85 to 100%) than that with a monolabeled probe (EUB338-mono; mean, 48%; range, 19 to 66%). Virtually no unspecific staining was observed after CARD-FISH with an antisense EUB338-HRP. Members of the marine SAR86 clade were undetectable by FISH with a monolabeled probe; however, a substantial population was visualized by CARD-FISH (mean, 7%; range, 3 to 13%). Detection rates of EUB338-HRP in Wadden Sea sediments (mean, 81%; range, 53 to 100%) were almost twice as high as the detection rates of EUB338-mono (mean, 44%; range, 25 to 71%). The enhanced fluorescence intensities and signal-to-background ratios make CARD-FISH superior to FISH with directly labeled oligonucleotides for the staining of bacteria with low rRNA content in the marine environment.

/pdf/fluorescence-in-situ-hybridization-and-catalyzed-reporter-jyj4v4z50l.pdf

Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization and Catalyzed Reporter Deposition for the Identification of Marine Bacteria

The Domain-specific Probe EUB338 is Insufficient for the Detection of all Bacteria: Development and Evaluation of a more Comprehensive Probe Set

Effect of long-term idle periods on the performance of sequencing batch reactors

Populations of bacteria in sludge flocs and biofilm marked by fluorescence marked with fluorescent probes are digitised with a confocal laser scanning microscope. These data are used to analyse the microbial community structure, to obtain information on the localisation of specific bacterial groups and to examine gene expression. This information is urgently required for an in-depth understanding of the function and, more generally, the microbial ecology of biofilms. Methods derived from quantitative image analysis are applied to digitised data from confocal laser scanning microscopes to obtain quantitative descriptions of volumetric, topological (and topographical) properties of different compartments of the components under research. In addition to free-moving flocs, also biofilms attached to a substratum in an experimental environment are analysed. Growth form as well as interaction of components are quantitatively described. Classical measurements of volume and intensity (shape, distribution) and distance dependent interaction measurements using methods from mathematical morphology are performed. Mainly image (volume) processing methods are outlined. Segmented volumes are globally and individually (in terms of 3Dconnected components) measured and used for distance mapping transform as well as for estimation of geodesic distances from the substrate. All transformations are applied on the 3D data set. Resulting distance distributions are quantified and related to information on the identity and activity of the probe-identified bacteria.

/pdf/quantification-of-biofilms-in-multi-spectral-digital1-1a8ykflm3x.pdf

Andreas Brühl

Papers

The Domain-specific Probe EUB338 is Insufficient for the Detection of all Bacteria: Development and Evaluation of a more Comprehensive Probe Set

Effect of long-term idle periods on the performance of sequencing batch reactors

Quantification of biofilms in multi-spectral digital1 volumes from confocal laser-scanning microscopes

Volumes from confocal laser-scanning microscopes