Where in the World? Asia

Thar Desert, Rajasthan, India

Subramanya Rao, PhD student at the University of Hong Kong, part of the Extremophiles Research Group run by Dr Steve Pointing, has taken an expedition to the Thar Desert to obtain samples from arid and semi arid regions within Rajasthan, India. The aim of this research is to examine the soil microbial community from arid and semi-arid regions of the desert and to understand ecosystem functioning in desert soil.

"Soil samples were collected in sterile tubes, one groups containing stabilization solution (used to extract RNA) and the other without (used to extract DNA). The soil samples were then transported to the laboratory for further analysis. Immediately cultivable microbes were grown using different culture medias. Desert soil micro-organisms are generally restricted due to environmental stress, lack of water, etc. Still we find desert soil micro-organisms carry out critical ecosystem functioning in terms of biogeochemical cycling. Until recently, studies on Thar Desert soil microbes mostly focused on cultivation alone.

To test the long-assumed notion that cultivation results significantly underestimate the overall microbial diversity in soil, we applied an environmental metagenomic approach. We found the combination of cultivation and DNA and RNA clone library helped us to better estimate total soil microbial diversity. In order to answer our research questions 'Which microbes are the key players in desert soil ecosystems for arid and semi arid regions?' and 'How does the variation in the inorganic compounds in desert soil effect microbial diversity?', we used MO BIO soil extraction kits to extract DNA and RNA respectively. We then constructed DNA and RNA clone libraries to compare the metabolically active and dormant microbial diversity in soil.

Thanks to MO BIO's PowerSoil® DNA Isolation Kit and PowerMax® Soil DNA Isolation Kit, we were able to further understanding of soil-microbial interactions. As the MO BIO ad says, 'No more microbe will be left unsequenced', this is what I experienced. Previously, we used phenol-chloroform methods to extract DNA from complex substrates such as soil, but we faced a lot of problems in PCR due to inhibitors. But MO BIO’s PowerSoil® kit helped us to amplify successfully, saving a lot of time. It also saved us from inhalation of phenol in the lab, feeling much safer in the lab."

Thar desert images 2

Nanjing, China

China's booming population, along with that of the rest of the world, demands an equally booming food and resources supply. In this light, Ning Ling, a Ph. D. student from the College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, China, is investigating a key aspect to our species survival. He is currently working on soil microbial ecology, researching the food crop nemesis, soil-borne watermelon pathogen, Fusarium oxysporum. In his studies, Ning Ling isolates DNA from diseased soil infested with Fusarium oxysporum (shown in the above photo, left side), and soil restored with various bio-organic fertilizers (above right). Using molecular biological methods, Ning Ling studies the differences in soil microflora between these soils to optimize crop stability.

Ning Ling states, "Compared to the other ways of DNA extraction from soils, I trust MO BIO’s PowerSoil® DNA Isolation Kit which can isolate DNA from soils in a relatively short time with much higher product and lower humic acid, and that is much better for the further amplification of microbial genes."

nanjing2 lab

Lake Tai, China

Lake Tai (or as it is known to the local, Taihu) is the third largest lake in China - over 30 million people rely on it as a source of potable water and for various aquaculture, industrial and transportation purposes. Over the last few years though it has been inundated with massive algal bloom dominated by the potentially toxic cyanobacterium Microcystis. Dr. Jennifer DeBruyn and Ms Sarah Farnsley accompanied Professor Steven Wilhelm, all from the University of Tennessee, to Taihu in May 2009 to collect samples from the lake in order to begin to develop an understanding of the factors that control the proliferation of these toxic algae.

Microcystis produces a hepatoxin that causes significant problems for wildlife and husbandry animals and, if consumed, for humans. Indeed reports from Taihu suggest toxin levels reach 1000x the World Health Organization's drinking water limit.

The UltraClean® Microbial DNA Isolation Kit was Professor Wilhelm and his team's kit of choice: " We chose to use MO BIO products as they appear to give us the best yield of PCR quality DNA from this tough-to-lyse organism."

lake tai 3

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