Journal
JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGICAL METHODS
Volume 71, Issue 3, Pages 212-219Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.mimet.2007.08.012
Keywords
aquatic viruses; concentration; polyethylene glycol (PEG); pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE); ultracentrifugation; ultrafiltration
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
We have described the use of Polyethylene glycol (PEG) for the precipitation of natural communities of aquatic viruses, and its comparison with the usual concentration method based on ultracentrifugation. Experimental samples were obtained from different freshwater ecosystems whose trophic status varied. Based on transmission electron microscope observations and counting of phage-shaped particles, our results showed that the greatest recovery efficiency for all ecosystems was obtained when we used the PEG protocol. On average, this protocol allowed the recovery of >2-fold more viruses, compared to ultracentrifugation. In addition, the diversity of virioplankton, based on genomic size profiling using pulsed field gel electrophoresis, was higher and better discriminated when we used the PEG method. We conclude that pegylation offers a valid, simple and cheaper alternative method to ultracentrifugation, for the concentration and the purification of pelagic viruses. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available