| |
Communication at the NABS Annual meeting, Keystone, 2000
(400) ASSESSMENT OF TWO EPIFLUORESCENT STAINING METHODS TO ENUMERATE PLANKTONIC AND ATTACHED VIRUSES IN A FRESHWATER WETLAND.
E.A. Farnell, M.L. Baer, and A.K. Ward. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa,AL 35487
Viruses influence nutrient cycling, carbon allocation, and microbial mortality in aquatic ecosystems. Increased interest in the roles of viruses in freshwater and marine systems has stimulated development of new techniques to enumerate viruses. Two of these techniques, SYBR Green I and YO-PRO, use a nucleic acid stain in conjunction with epifluorescent microscopy. Samples from a freshwater wetland were assessed for viral abundances using SYBR Green I and YO-PRO. Both planktonic and viruses associated with attached microbial communities were enumerated. These data show that for planktonic habitats, YO-PRO stained samples were consistently higher (2.14*104 to 2.44*104 organisms/mL) than SYBR Green I stained samples (5.68*103 to 1.2*104 organisms/mL). Higher numbers may be due to more viruses in the YO-PRO samples. However, YO-PRO may result in a higher estimation of viral numbers because it is a more intense stain than SYBR Green I and also fades less quickly. Benthic samples were more difficult to assess due to a high level of background staining, which made it difficult to distinguish between viral particles and organic matter. These initial data indicate that the limitations and advantages of both of these methods should be considered when using them to assess viral abundances in freshwater systems.
Presented at 1:00 PM on Wednesday, May 31, 2000 in Organic Matter Processing
|
|
