Taxon-specific responses of soil bacteria to the addition of low level C inputs

Jenkins, Sasha N.; Rushton, Steven P.; Lanyon, Clare V.; Whiteley, Andrew S.; Waite, Ian S.; Brookes, Philip C.; Kemmitt, Sarah; Evershed, Richard P.; O’Donnell, Anthony G.. 2010 Taxon-specific responses of soil bacteria to the addition of low level C inputs. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 42. 1624-1631. 10.1016/j.soilbio.2010.06.002

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2010.06.002

Abstract/Summary

The addition of small or trace amounts of carbon to soils can result in the release of 2–5 times more C as CO2 than was added in the original solution. The identity of the microorganisms responsible for these so-called trigger effects remains largely unknown. This paper reports on the response of individual bacterial taxa to the addition of a range of 14C-glucose concentrations (150, 50 and 15 and 0 μg C g−1 soil) similar to the low levels of labile C found in soil. Taxon-specific responses were identified using a modification of the stable isotope probing (SIP) protocol and the recovery of [14C] labelled ribosomal RNA using equilibrium density gradient centrifugation. This provided good resolution of the ‘heavy’ fractions ([14C] labelled RNA) from the ‘light’ fractions ([12C] unlabelled RNA). The extent of the separation was verified using autoradiography. The addition of [14C] glucose at all concentrations was characterised by changes in the relative intensity of particular bands. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed that the rRNA response in both the ‘heavy’ and ‘light’ fractions differed according to the concentration of glucose added but was most pronounced in soils amended with 150 μg C g−1 soil. In the ‘heavy RNA’ fractions there was a clear separation between soils amended with 150 μg C g−1 soil and those receiving 50 and 15 μg C g−1 soil indicating that at low C inputs the microbial community response is quite distinct from that seen at higher concentrations. To investigate these differences further, bands that changed in relative intensity following amendment were excised from the DGGE gels, reamplified and sequenced. Sequence analysis identified 8 taxa that responded to glucose amendment (Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Burkholderia, Bradyrhizobium, Actinobacteria, Nitrosomonas, Acidobacteria and an uncultured β-proteobacteria). These results show that radioisotope probing (RNA-RIP) can be used successfully to study the fate of labile C substrates, such as glucose, in soil.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1016/j.soilbio.2010.06.002
Programmes:	CEH Topics & Objectives 2009 - 2012 > Biodiversity > BD Topic 1 - Observations, Patterns, and Predictions for Biodiversity CEH Topics & Objectives 2009 - 2012 > Biodiversity > BD Topic 2 - Ecological Processes in the Environment
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Hails
ISSN:	0038-0717
Additional Keywords:	RNA radioactive isotope probing (RNA-RIP), [14C] glucose, priming effect, trigger molecules, bacterial community structure, microbial ecology
NORA Subject Terms:	Biology and Microbiology Ecology and Environment
Date made live:	16 Feb 2011 09:03 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/13420

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

10.1016/j.soilbio.2010.06.002

Programmes:

CEH Topics & Objectives 2009 - 2012 > Biodiversity > BD Topic 1 - Observations, Patterns, and Predictions for Biodiversity
CEH Topics & Objectives 2009 - 2012 > Biodiversity > BD Topic 2 - Ecological Processes in the Environment

UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:

Hails

ISSN:

0038-0717

Additional Keywords:

RNA radioactive isotope probing (RNA-RIP), [14C] glucose, priming effect, trigger molecules, bacterial community structure, microbial ecology