Dh. Buckley et Tm. Schmidt, Environmental factors influencing the distribution of rRNA from Verrucomicrobia in soil, FEMS MIC EC, 35(1), 2001, pp. 105-112
The Verrucomicrobia constitute a newly discovered division of the Bacteria
identified as a numerically abundant component of soil microbial communitie
s in numerous sites around the world. The relative abundance of rRNA from V
errucomicrobia was investigated in the soil to examine the influence of spe
cific environmental factors on the distribution of Verrucomicrobia and to b
etter understand the distribution of this group in terrestrial ecosystems.
The abundance of the verrucomicrobial rRNA was determined by using a novel
oligonucleotide probe that is specific for verrucomicrobial 16S rRNA. The a
bundance of verrucomicrobial 16S rRNA in soil microbial communities was det
ermined in relation to plant community composition and soil management hist
ory over a period of 2 years. Additional samples were analyzed to determine
if verrucomicrobial rRNA relative abundance changes in relation to either
soil depth or soil moisture content. The Verrucomiurobia composed 1.9 +/- 0
.2% of the microbial community rRNA present in the 85 soil samples examined
. The distribution of verrucomicrobial rRNA in the soil reveals that Verruc
omicrobia art: significantly affected by environmental characteristics that
change in relation to time, soil history, and soil depth, and reveals that
a statistically significant amount of the variation in verrucomicrobial rR
NA abundance can be explained by changes in soil moisture content. (C) 2001
Federation of European Microbiological Societies. published by Elsevier Sc
ience B.V. All rights reserved.