Tuf gene sequence variation in Bifidobacterium longum subspecies infantis detected in the fecal microbiota of Chinese infants.

Tuf gene sequence variation in Bifidobacterium longum subspecies infantis detected in the fecal microbiota of Chinese infants. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2018 Apr 27;: Authors: Lawley B, Centanni M, Watanabe J, Sims I, Carnachan S, Broadbent R, Lee PS, Wong KH, Tannock GW Abstract Members of the bacterial genus Bifidobacterium generally dominate the faecal microbiota of infants. The species B. longum is prevalent, but the subspecies longum and infantis that are known to colonize the infant bowel are not usually differentiated in microbiota investigations. These subspecies differ in their capacity to metabolize Human Milk Oligosaccharides (HMO) and may have differing ecological and symbiotic roles in humans. Quantitative PCR provides a quick analytical method by which to accurately ascertain the abundances of target species in microbiotas and microcosms. However, amplification targets in DNA extracted from samples need to be dependably differential. We evaluated the tuf gene sequence as a molecular target for quantitative PCR measurements of abundance of B. longum subsp. infantis and subsp. longum in fecal microbiotas. This approach resulted in the detection of a tuf gene variant (OTU49) in Chinese infants, that has sequence similarities to both subsp. infantis and subsp. longum We compared the genome sequence and growth and transcriptional characteristics of an OTU49 isolate cultured in HMO medium to those of other subsp. infantis cultu...
Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: Appl Environ Microbiol Source Type: research