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The Relationship between Microbial Community Structure and Functional Stability, Tested Experimentally in an Upland Pasture Soil

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Abstract

Soil collected from an upland pasture was manipulated experimentally in ways shown previously to alter microbial community structure. One set of soil was subjected to chloroform fumigation for 0, 0.5, 2, or 24 h and the other was sterilised by gamma-irradiation and inoculated with a 10−2, 10−4, 10−6, or 10−8 dilution of a soil suspension prepared from unsterilized soil. Following incubation for 8 months, to allow for the stabilization of microbial biomass and activity, the resulting microbial community structure (determined by PCR-DGGE of bacterial specific amplification products of total soil DNA) was assessed. In addition, the functional stability (defined here as the resistance and resilience of short-term decomposition of plant residues to a transient heat or a persistent copper perturbation) was determined. Changes in the active bacterial population following perturbation (determined by RT-PCR-DGGE of total soil RNA) were also monitored. The manipulations resulted in distinct shifts in microbial community structure as shown by PCR-DGGE profiles, but no significant decreases in the number of bands. These shifts in microbial community structure were associated with a reduction in functional stability. The clear correlation between altered microbial community structure and functional stability observed in this upland pasture soil was not evident when the same protocols were applied to soils in other studies. RT-PCR-DGGE profiles only detected a shift in the active bacterial population following heat, but not copper, perturbation. We conclude that the functional stability of decomposition is related to specific components of the microbial community.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by award 2125 of the Soil Biodiversity thematic programme from the Natural Environment Research Council. The Scottish Crop Research Institute receives grant-in-aid from the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department. We thank Dr. Graham Begg of Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland for advice, and two anonymous referees for constructive comments.

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Author notes

  1. A. E. McCaig

    Present address: The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Polaris House, North Star Avenue, Swindon SN2 1ET, UK

  2. C. Fenwick

    Present address: The Natural Environment Research Council, Polaris House, North Star Avenue, Swindon SN2 1EU, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant–Soil Interface Programme, Scottish Crop Research Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee DD2 5DA, UK

    B. S. Griffiths & H. L. Kuan

  2. National Soil Resources Institute, Cranfield University, Silsoe, Bedfordshire MK45 4DT, UK

    K. Ritz

  3. Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK

    L. A. Glover, A. E. McCaig & C. Fenwick

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  1. B. S. Griffiths
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  2. H. L. Kuan
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  4. L. A. Glover
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  5. A. E. McCaig
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Correspondence to B. S. Griffiths.

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Griffiths, B., Kuan, H., Ritz, K. et al. The Relationship between Microbial Community Structure and Functional Stability, Tested Experimentally in an Upland Pasture Soil . Microb Ecol 47, 104–113 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-002-2043-7

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