Phospholipid fatty acid profiles as indicators for the microbial community structure in soils along a climatic transect in the Judean Desert

Steinberger, Yosef; Zelles, L.; Bai, Q.Y.; Lützow, Margit von; Munch, Jean Charles

doi:10.1007/s003740050496

Cited by 88 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The use of phospholipids has become particularly popular in the past decade due to their ability to detect patterns of microbial community composition in the environment [46,62] and the ease with which the data are collected relative to DNA methods. Although the detection of individual species is not possible with this method, phospholipid analyses allow one to investigate changes in broad microbial groups, such as fungi, bacteria, and actinomycetes [54].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Tropical Plant Diversity and Composition on Soil Microbial Communities

2006

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There is growing interest in understanding the linkages between above-and belowground communities, and very little is known about these linkages in tropical systems. Using an experimental site at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica, we examined whether plant diversity, plant community composition, and season influenced microbial communities. We also determined whether soil characteristics were related to differences in microbial communities. Phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) composition revealed that microbial community composition differed across a plant diversity gradient (plots contained 1, 3, 5, or over 25 species). Plant species identity also was a factor influencing microbial community composition; PLFA composition significantly varied among monocultures, and among three-species combinations that differed in plant species composition. Differences among treatments within each of these comparisons were apparent in all four sampling dates of the study. There was no consistent shift in microbial community composition between wet and dry seasons, although we did see significant changes over time. Of all measured soil characteristics, soil C/N was most often associated with changes in microbial community composition across treatment groups. Our findings provide evidence for human alteration of soil microbial communities via the alteration of plant community composition and diversity and that such changes are mediated in part by changes in soil carbon quality.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Tropical Plant Diversity and Composition on Soil Microbial Communities

2006

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“…In virtually all cases, culture-independent methods have revealed more complexity in the microbial populations of particular ecosystems than culture-based methods. Although culture-independent methods have been widely used on samples from soil, water, and the rhizosphere, they have not been used to examine the phyllosphere (8,12,(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26).…”

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confidence: 99%

Microbial phyllosphere populations are more complex than previously realized

Yang

Crowley

Borneman

et al. 2001

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

322

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Phyllosphere microbial communities were evaluated on leaves of field-grown plant species by culture-dependent and -independent methods. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) with 16S rDNA primers generally indicated that microbial community structures were similar on different individuals of the same plant species, but unique on different plant species. Phyllosphere bacteria were identified from Citrus sinesis (cv. Valencia) by using DGGE analysis followed by cloning and sequencing of the dominant rDNA bands. Of the 17 unique sequences obtained, database queries showed only four strains that had been described previously as phyllosphere bacteria. Five of the 17 sequences had 16S similarities lower than 90% to database entries, suggesting that they represent previously undescribed species. In addition, three fungal species were also identified. Very different 16S rDNA DGGE banding profiles were obtained when replicate cv. Valencia leaf samples were cultured in BIOLOG EcoPlates for 4.5 days. All of these rDNA sequences had 97-100% similarity to those of known phyllosphere bacteria, but only two of them matched those identified by the culture independent DGGE analysis. Like other studied ecosystems, microbial phyllosphere communities therefore are more complex than previously thought, based on conventional culture-based methods.A ll plant species in natural habitats have associated epiphytic microflora comprising the so-called phyllosphere (1, 2). The composition and quantity of nutrients, including carbohydrates, organic acids, and amino acids that support the growth of epiphytic bacteria, are affected by the plant species, leaf age, leaf physiological status, and the presence of tissue damage (3). Similarly, host plants, leaf age, leaf position, physical environmental condition, and availability of immigrant inoculum have also been suggested to be involved in determining species of microbes in the phyllosphere (4-7).There has been much interest in life forms that inhabit extreme environments such as the phyllosphere. With the repeated, rapid alteration of environmental conditions occurring on leaf surfaces, the phyllosphere has been recognized as a hostile environment to bacteria (8). Leaf surfaces are often dry and temperatures can reach 40-55°C under intense sunlight. During the night, however, leaves are frequently wet with dew and at relatively cool temperatures (5-10°C). Strong UV radiation during the day and sparse nutritional (oligotrophic) conditions also contribute to stressful conditions in the phyllosphere (8). More than 85 different species of microorganisms in 37 genera have been reported in the phyllospheres of rye, olive, sugar beet, and wheat, all by culture-based methods (8-10). Most of these bacteria establish large populations with no apparent effect on the plant, but a few of them can infect the leaves and cause disease (1).Microbial ecologists have devoted much effort to investigating microbial diversity and studying biological interactions between species in the environment. Microor...

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“…Soil microbiota contribute in soil structure formation, involve in decomposing organic matter and recalcitrant xenobiotics, modulate the global biogeochemical cycle and recycle nutrients as well as important elements such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous and sulphur [5][6][7][8]. Hence it is imperative to understand the dynamics of soil microbial communities which is under the influence of abiotic factors like soil fertility [9], substrate availability, pH [10], climate [11], soil temperature [12] and moisture, as well as shifts in seasonality [9,13] as well as biotic factors like plant communities [14], microbe food web interactions [15,16] and farming practices [17]. Enormous studies have been carried out in order to study the microbial communities thriving in soil which maintains the balance of ecosystem, these studies involve both culturing the bacteria in a nutrient rich media and identify them through direct DNA isolation and sequencing.…”

Section: Soil Microbiota and Its Significancementioning

confidence: 99%