Analysis of Aerobic and Culturable Bacterial Community Structures in Earthworm (Eisenia fetida) Intestine

Abstract

Aerobic intestinal bacterial community structure of earthworm, Eisenia fetida, was investigated basedon 16S rDNA analysis. Ninety-one different colonies grown on Brain Heart Infusion medium wererandomly isolated under aerobic condition. Based on partial sequence analysis of PCR-amplified 16SrDNA for strains, earthworm intestinal aerobic bacteria (EIAB) were divided into 12 groups, and eachgroup was further divided into subgroups. Groups included 6% Aeromonas, 3% Agromyces, 31%Bacillus, 1% Bosea, 6% Gordonia, 6% Klebsiella, 7% Microbacterium, 2% Nocardia, 10% Pseudomonas,19% Rhodococcus, 2% Tsukamurella, and 7% Streptomyces, with Bacillus being dominant group. Because earthworm plays key role in improving physical and chemical properties of soil, study onmicro-intestinal ecology and community structure would provide valuable information.