Abstract

Zhao Chao and Ruan Lingwei*

Medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoates (Mcl-PHAs) share physical and material properties that are considered as an alternative to nonbiodegradable plastics. In this report, a new method was developed for detection of Mcl-PHA-producing bacteria. The procedure was composed of, first staining with Nile red and screen under fluorescence microscope at a wavelength of 565 nm, then further confirmation by amplifying the partial nucleic acid sequence of the PHA synthase gene pha with polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The stained positive Mcl-PHA-producing bacteria were also detected while subjected to transmission electron microscopy (TEM). This new method should therefore be useful for screening Mcl-PHA-producing bacteria from large numbers of microbial cultures timeefficiently.