Contact
Viggó Marteinsson
Research Group Leader
viggo@matis.is
Microbial flora in Icelandic groundwater
In the project "Icelandic Water Resources", considerable costs were spent on obtaining groundwater samples in many parts of the country and also on analyzes of various physical and chemical properties of the samples. The biological characteristics of the water were not considered, but this possibility was kept open for some of the samples by using microbial filters for storage at -20 ° C. In the project "microbial flora in Icelandic groundwater", the aim was to examine whether it would be possible to use the filters that had been stored frozen for several years to map microbial flora in Icelandic groundwater. Of the 59 filters that had been stored at 2020 ° C and tested, 19 were detected by t ‐ RFLP analysis, still only 5 by 16S rRNA clone analysis. For most of the samples, PCR amplification of the species identification gene could not be obtained. These low yields indicate that the DNA of the microorganisms on the filters has not been well preserved and has broken down during long-term storage. It is also possible that the number of microorganisms was low and thus little DNA was present. However, it cannot be ruled out that the samples could be used to map the microbial diversity of the more groundwater samples if more extensive tests are performed, such as changes in PCR conditions and the use of other DNA polymerase enzymes. The samples that could be cloned and used to sequence 16S rRNA genes were taken in the range of 3-83 ° C. The results showed that the samples largely consist of common environmental bacteria that are common in environments such as water, soil and vegetation. There was a great variety between samples and a lot of microorganisms that are still uncultivable.
Within the project “Vatnsauðlindir Íslands” considerable efforts and cost was spent to collect and analyze various physical and chemical properties of groundwater samples from around the country. Biological characteristics were not analyzed within the project but filtered microbial samples were kept and preserved at ‐20 ° C for potential future analyzes. In this project “Örveruflóra í íslenska grunnvatni”, the aim was to analyze the preserved filters and see if they could be used for mapping the microbiological flora in Icelandic groundwater. OF the 59 filters analyzed, 19 could be analyzed with t ‐ RFLP and only 5 with 16S cloning. The great majority of the samples did therefore not give any PCR amplification for the 16S gene. These low recoveries indicate that the DNA of the microorganisms on the filters has degraded during the long term storage. It is also possible that the number of bacteria on the filters was low and therefore limited DNA present. It can however not be overlooked that the samples could be used for mapping microbial groundwater diversity with more extensive testing of PCR conditions and different DNA polymerase enzymes. The samples that could be cloned and sequenced where sampled from water of temperatures varying from 3‐83 ° C. The results showed that the samples consist largely of environmental bacteria common in eg soils, water and vegetation. A great diversity was observed between the samples and numerous microorganisms that are still uncultivable.
Report closed until 01.01.2014