Detection, Activity Measurement and Phylogeny of Ureolytic Bacteria Isolated from Elasmobranch Tissue

<p>Free-ranging marine elasmobranch tissue-associated micro-organisms were cultured from free-ranging Atlantic stingray (<em>Dasyatis sabina</em>) and Atlantic sharpnose sharks (<em>Rhizoprionodon terraenovae</em>). 16S rRNA gene phylogeny indicated bacteria community structure in both elasmobranchs were under phylum Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria. By conducting split-plot ANOVA, we found the microbial richness is significantly different (P=0.0814) between two superorders of elasmobranch, which may largely due to their preferred habitats and feeding habits. Urease presentence and activity was detected in phylogenetically diverse bacterial strains. Species with high urea-hydrolyzing ability, such as <em>Micrococcus</em> <em>luteus</em> (shark blood isolate: 46.84 mU/mg protein; stingray blood isolate: 24.36 mU/mg protein) and <em>Staphylococcus saprophyticus </em>(could also be <em>xylosus</em>) (66.46 mU/mg protein) were both isolated from blood samples. This study suggests the examination of urease activity to promote the better profile of the virulence of some novel bacteria species. The phylogeny of bacterial 16S rRNA genes and urease-coding ureC genes were analyzed and compared,combined with the examination of urease activity of ureolytic bacteria, we found ureC gene as a potential functional marker. The study of enzymatic (urease) activity and ureC gene-based phylogeny provides a better understanding of ureolytic bacteria for their urea-utilizing potential, enables the further study of urease-positive strains on bioengineering and bioremediating of marine urea eutrophication in a larger scale.</p> <p>To our knowledge, this should be the first study to unveil the urea-hydrolyzing ability of marine elasmobranch tissue-associated ureolytic microbes, and the potential of the ureC gene to be a functional marker.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Coastal Sciences, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory

Year dc:date.available

2018

Author dc:creator

• Yang, Yimu

Contributors dc:contributor

• Darrell Jay Grimes
• Wei Wu
• Robert J. Griffitt

• elasmobrnach
• marine bacteria
• microbiome community structure
• ureC gene
• ureolytic bacteria
• urease activity
• 16S rRNA gene phylogenetic tree
• ureC gene phylogenetic tree
• split- plot ANOVA
• cluster analysis
• Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/355

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:aquila.usm.edu:masters_theses-1378