Geographic distribution of Desulfitobacterium frappieri PCP-1 and Desulfitobacterium spp. in soils from the province of Quebec, Canada

The presence of indigenous Desulfitobacterium species in 44 soil samples ta ken from various sites in the southern part of the province of Quebec (Cana da) and four from locations outside Quebec was investigated. Twenty-four of these soils were sampled from contaminated industrial sites. Indigenous De sulfitobacterium bacteria from soil samples were enriched by cultivation in anaerobic soil slurry culture. Total DNA was then extracted from these slu rries and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplifications were performed wit h primers targeting 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences of Desulfitobacterium spp. and of Desulfitobacterium frappieri PCP-1. A positive PCR signal was o btained in 31 soil slurry cultures. Resolution of single-strand DNAs of som e of the PCR products by a single-strand conformational polymorphism protoc ol suggests that more than one species of Desulfitobacterium were present i n the corresponding slurry cultures. These results suggest that Desulfitoba cterium are ubiquitous in soils in the province of Quebec. especially in so ils from the St. Lawrence valley and the southern part of the province. (C) 2001 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevi er Science B.V. All rights reserved.