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. 2005 Jul;71(7):4117-20.
doi: 10.1128/AEM.71.7.4117-4120.2005.

Assessment of soil microbial community structure by use of taxon-specific quantitative PCR assays

Noah Fierer  1 , Jason A Jackson, Rytas Vilgalys, Robert B Jackson
Affiliations

Assessment of soil microbial community structure by use of taxon-specific quantitative PCR assays

Noah Fierer et al. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2005 Jul.

Abstract

Here we describe a quantitative PCR-based approach to estimating the relative abundances of major taxonomic groups of bacteria and fungi in soil. Primers were thoroughly tested for specificity, and the method was applied to three distinct soils. The technique provides a rapid and robust index of microbial community structure.

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Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
The relative abundances of the six bacterial groups in three different soils, as estimated using the qPCR assays. Error bars are the standard errors of the mean for the three replicates.
FIG. 2.
FIG. 2.
The estimated fungal/bacterial ratios and the relative abundances of basidiomycete fungi (as a fraction of total fungal abundance) in the three soil samples. Error bars are the standard errors of the mean for the three replicates.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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