The development of species-specific probes for a quantitative estimation of non-cultured bacteria in groundwater samples

The aim of this study was to quantify different bacteria in drinking water production wells that supply the city of Mainz (capital of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany). Knowledge of the counts of individual microorganisms is important for the appraisal of the hygienic and sensory quality of drinking water. Specific 16S rRNA probes were designed for 14 previously identified but non-cultured bacterial species ( Ferribacterium limneticum , Hydrogenophaga sp., Methylotenera sp., Janthinobacterium sp., Pseudomonas sp., Rhizobium selenireducens , Rhodoferax sp., Nitrosomonadaceae bacterium, Thauera sp. and five strains which could not be identified to species level). With fluorescence in situ hybrid…