Method |
Researchers investigated the diversity and abundance
of Planctomycetes in the gut of Cubitermes spp.
using several complementary approaches. As the highest
proportion of planctomycetes was present in the moderately
alkaline P3 segment (Fig. 1 Schmitt-Wagner et al.,
2003a), researchers analysed the planctomycete diversity in this
compartment in detail using a 16S rRNA gene clone
library obtained with a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
primer set selective for Planctomycetes, many Verrucomicrobia
and Chlamydia (PLA-40F/1492R Derakshani et al.
2001). Based on this library, they characterized the distribution
of planctomycete phylotypes along the gut axis
using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism
(T-RFLP) analysis. The abundance of planctomycetes in the different gut compartments was determined by FISH,
using group-specific oligonucleotide probes developed for
the novel, termite-specific clusters. |