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Eukaryotic diversity in historical soil samples.
Seung Yeo Moon-van der Staay1, Vesela A Tzeneva, Georg W M van der Staay
1Department of Evolutionary Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
FEMS Microbiology Ecology
|August 16, 2006
Summary
Historical soil samples reveal diverse eukaryotic microbes, including fungi and protists. This study shows archived soil is valuable for understanding past microbial communities and their changes over time.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Ecology
- Genomics
Background:
- Historical agricultural soil archives offer unique insights into past microbial ecosystems.
- Assessing eukaryotic biodiversity in long-term stored samples is crucial for historical ecological studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the feasibility of studying eukaryotic soil biodiversity in historical, air-dried samples.
- To characterize the eukaryotic microbial communities in Dutch agricultural soil archives.
- To investigate temporal changes in eukaryotic microbiota composition.
Main Methods:
- Random sequencing of an 18S rRNA gene library.
- Polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE).
- Analysis of soil samples stored for over 30 years at room temperature.
Main Results:
- Successful identification of diverse eukaryotic microbial taxa, including fungi and various protists (cercozoans, ciliates, xanthophytes, heteroloboseans, amoebozoans).
- Demonstrated viability of studying eukaryotic microbiota from long-term archived soil samples.
- PCR-DGGE revealed significant shifts in eukaryotic microbiota composition between samples from 1950-1975.
Conclusions:
- Historical air-dried soil samples are a valuable resource for reconstructing past eukaryotic microbial communities.
- The methods employed are effective for assessing biodiversity in ancient soil archives.
- Significant temporal changes in soil eukaryotic microbiota composition have been identified.