Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-17-2007
Abstract
We have developed a microfluidic device that allows the isolation and genome amplification of individual microbial cells, thereby enabling organism-level genomic analysis of complex microbial ecosystems without the need for culture. This device was used to perform a directed survey of the human subgingival crevice and to isolate bacteria having rod-like morphology. Several isolated microbes had a 16S rRNA sequence that placed them in candidate phylum TM7, which has no cultivated or sequenced members. Genome amplification from individual TM7 cells allowed us to sequence and assemble >1,000 genes, providing insight into the physiology of members of this phylum. This approach enables single-cell genetic analysis of any uncultivated minority member of a microbial community.
Recommended Citation
Marcy, Yann; Ouverney, Cleber C.; Bik, Elisabeth M.; Lösekann, Tina; Ivanova, Natalia; Martin, Hector Garcia; Szeto, Ernest; Platt, Darren; Hugenholtz, Philip; Relman, David A.; and Quake, Stephen R., "Dissecting biological “dark matter” with single-cell genetic analysis of rare and uncultivated TM7 microbes from the human mouth" (2007). Faculty Publications. Paper 5.
http://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/biol_pub/5
Included in
Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Commons, Pathogenic Microbiology Commons
Comments
Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2007 July 17; 104(29): 11889–11894. © 2007 BioMed Central doi: 10.1073/pnas.0704662104. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1924555/?tool=pubmed