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Intraspecific polymorphism of 16S rRNA genes in two halophilic archaeal genera, Haloarcula and Halomicrobium

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Abstract

All members of the genera Haloarcula and Halomicrobium whose names have been validly published were surveyed for 16S rRNA gene polymorphism, and the transcription of the genes from two species was investigated during growth at different NaCl concentrations. The species of Haloarcula and Halomicrobium harbour at least two different 16S rRNA gene copies, and 18 new sequences of 16S rRNA genes were obtained. The type I and type II 16S rRNA genes of Haloarcula are divergent at 4.8–5.6% of their nucleotide positions. The type III and type IV 16S rRNA genes from Halomicrobium mukohataei JCM 9738T are 9.0% divergent, which represents the highest intraspecific divergent 16S rRNA genes so far seen. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA genes indicated that all type I 16S rRNA genes were clustered, and the same was true for the type II 16S rRNA genes of Haloarcula species. The two clusters, respectively generated from type I and type II 16S rRNA genes, were sharply separated and their divergences (4.8–5.6%) are in the range of various divergence usually found between genera in the order Halobacteriales (about 5–10%). Results from reverse transcription-PCR showed that the type I and type II copies of Har. amylolytica BD-3T and type III and type IV copies of Hmc. mukohataei JCM 9738T were all transcribed to 16S rRNA molecules under different salt concentrations (15–28% NaCl).

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Basic Research Program from the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of China (Grant No. 2004CB719601) and a start-up grant from Jiangsu University (Grant No. 08JDG016).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100080, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Heng-Lin Cui, Pei-Jin Zhou & Shuang-Jiang Liu

  2. School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, 212013, Zhenjiang, People’s Republic of China

    Heng-Lin Cui

  3. The Institute of Life Sciences and the Moshe Shilo Minerva Center for Marine Biogeochemistry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904, Jerusalem, Israel

    Aharon Oren

  4. Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Datun Road Jia 3#, Chaoyang District, 100101, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Shuang-Jiang Liu

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  1. Heng-Lin Cui
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  2. Pei-Jin Zhou
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Correspondence to Shuang-Jiang Liu.

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Communicated by A. Driessen.

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Cui, HL., Zhou, PJ., Oren, A. et al. Intraspecific polymorphism of 16S rRNA genes in two halophilic archaeal genera, Haloarcula and Halomicrobium . Extremophiles 13, 31–37 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00792-008-0194-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00792-008-0194-2

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