In situ visualization of glycoside hydrolase family 92 genes in marine flavobacteria.

Gene clusters rich in carbohydrate-active enzymes within Flavobacteriia genera provide a competitiveness for their hosts to degrade diatom-derived polysaccharides. One such widely distributed polysaccharide is glucuronomannan, a main cell wall component of diatoms. A conserved gene cluster putatively degrading glucuronomannan was found previously among various flavobacterial taxa in marine metagenomes.

Direct-geneFISH: a simplified protocol for the simultaneous detection and quantification of genes and rRNA in microorganisms.

Although fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with specific ribosomal RNA (rRNA)-targeted oligonucleotides is a standard method to detect and identify microorganisms, the specific detection of genes in bacteria and archaea, for example by using geneFISH, requires complicated and lengthy (> 30 h) procedures. Here we report a much improved protocol, direct-geneFISH, which allows specific gene and rRNA detection within less than 6 h. For direct-geneFISH, catalyzed amplification reporter deposition (CARD) steps are removed and fluorochrome-labelled polynucleotide gene probes and rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes are hybridized simultaneously.