Real-time PCR measurements of alkB and rpoB in SAB contaminated sediment (SRE4 experiment).

Real-time PCR assays were used to measure the proportion of the microbial population that had the potential to degrade alkanes - the principal component of Special Antarctic Blend diesel. This was done by developing assays to measure the levels of alkane mono-oxygenase genes (alkB) relative to ribosomal polymerase B sub-unit (rpoB) genes in soil and sediment samples. In this work, the assays were used to determine the levels of these genes in sediment exposed to SAB and control sediments from the SRE4 in-situ biodegradation experiment.The samples used in this experiment were collected from O'Brien Bay, near Casey Station in the Windmill Islands.An information sheet is provided at the beginning of the excel workbook.This work was completed as part of ASAC project 2672 (ASAC_2672).