Comparison of identification systems for classification of bacteria isolated from water and endolithic habitats within the deep subsurface

Journal Article · Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1992 · Applied and Environmental Microbiology; (United States)

OSTI ID:6953423

Amy, P S; Haldeman, D L; Hall, D H ^[1]; Ringelberg, D ^[2]; Russell, C ^[3]

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1. Univ. of Nevada, Las Vegas (United States)
2. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville (United States)
3. Desert Research Inst., Las Vegas, NV (United States)

One water and three rock samples were taken from a mined tunnel system, U12n, in Rainier Mesa at the Nevada Test Site. Endolithic microorganisms were cultured from ashfall tuff, which was crushed and made into slurries with a formulation of artificial pore water, on R2A agar plates. Microbial counts ranged from 10{sup 2} viable cells per ml. Many of the isolates were very small (<1{mu}m) when viewed in the rock matrix and remained small even when cultured. Most were gram-negative rods. Individual isolates were profiled by API-NFT strip number, antibiotic and metal resistance patterns, and colony and cellular morphologies. Three identification systems, API-NFT strips, BIOLOG, and MIDI, were compared. Each system identified only a small percentage of the total isolates, and in only seven cases were the isolates identified the same way by more than one system. The same genus was identified in three of these cases, but different species were indicated. The genus Pseudomonas was the most commonly identified. The isolate profiles and the three identification systems demonstrated that water isolates were considerably different from endolithic isolates.

• OSTI ID: 6953423
• Journal Information: Applied and Environmental Microbiology; (United States), Vol. 58:10; ISSN 0099-2240
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
BACTERIA
CLASSIFICATION
BIODEGRADATION
CELL CULTURES
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
GEOLOGY
HABITAT
HYDROLOGY
NEVADA TEST SITE
PSEUDOMONAS
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
ROCKS
SURVIVAL TIME
UNDERGROUND SPACE
WATER
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DECOMPOSITION
EVALUATION
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MICROORGANISMS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
SPACE
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS
550700* - Microbiology