Probing biology's dark matter( new phylum of which one member is a r...)

new phylum, of which one member is a rod-shaped bacterium that live between the gums and teeth of humans. The candidate phylum, called TM7, has no cultivated or sequenced members. The scientists demonstrated that they could inject a solution containing multiple types of microbes into a chip, and manipulate tiny valves to direct individual rod-shaped bacteria into miniature chambers. Once individual microbes were isolated, the researchers could extract the DNA and amplify it using routine methods.

In this way, the researchers were able to sequence and assemble more than 1,000 genes, providing insight into the physiology of this previously unstudied group of bacteria. Most TM7 genes, they found, had remarkably little similarity to genes in known bacterial groups. But some of the genes hinted at interesting aspects of the organisms biology, such as an unusual gliding motion that groups of TM7 bacteria might use to get around, and a gene shared with bacteria known to cause chronic inflammation.

Just as importantly, the researchers say, they have demonstrated the success of their new technology in analyzing a rare component of a complex microbial community and there is plenty more to explore. Quakes team has already begun using the chip to isolate, identify, and sequence communities of microbes that reside in termite hindguts, and his lab at Stanford is custom building chips for other scientists interested in pursuing any culture-resistant microbe or discovering the dark matter of a specific environment.

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Contact: Jennifer Michalowski
michalow@hhmi.org
301-215-8576
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
19-Jul-2007


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