SREL Reprint #2146

16S rRNA gene probes for Deinococcus species

Mark G. Wise1, J Vaun McArthur 2, and Lawrence J. Shimkets1

1Dept. of Microbiology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia USA 30602
2Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken, South Carolina USA 29802

Summary: Oligonucleotide probes specific for members of the unusually radiation-resistant genus Deinococcus were designed and tested. Putative probes were identified by selecting 16S rRNA gene sequences unique to Deinococcus radiodurans UWO 298 (ATCC 35073). Hybridization of the probes to six Deinococcus strains representing the five species in the genus revealed probes that were strain-, species- and genus-specific. Nucleic acid hybridization could be used to assess the abundance of deinococci in the environment whose presence may be an indicator of high-radiation flux.

Keywords: Deinococcus; Oligonucleotide probes; 16S rRNA genes

SREL Reprint #2146

Wise, M.G., J.V. McArthur, and L.J. Shimkets. 1996. 16S rRNA gene probes for Deinococcus species. Systematic and Applied Microbiology 19:365-369.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).