Characterization of Archaeal Diversity in the Leachate of a Traditional Landfill by Determining Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms of 16S rRNA Genes

The diversity of Archaea community associated with the leachate of a traditional municipal solid waste landfill was examined by cultivation-independent analysis. Total-community genomic DNA was isolated from the leachate and archaeal 16S rRNA gene sequences (16S rDNA) were selectively amplified. The 16S rDNA amplicon was subcloned and further characterized by a restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (RFLP, enzymes Hha I and Hae III ) . A total of 80 cloned 16S rDNA fragments were analyzed, and they were finally clustered into 29 different groups (RFLP patterns) , with five most abundant groups accounting for 53% of all the 16S rDNA clones. The remaining 24 groups presented at low levels, of which a total of 16 groups were represented by a single clone. Our results demonstrated that RFLP analysis of PCR-amplified 16S rDNA is a powerful tool for assessing the diversity of microbial communities in complex anaerobic ecosystems