Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 28, 2026

Extraction and Analysis of Microbial Phospholipid Fatty Acids in Soils
Published on: August 26, 2016
[Phospholipid fatty acid composition of microorganisms in pine forest soils of Central Siberia]
Abstract:
The phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) composition of microorganisms in podzolic soils of pine forests of Central Siberia was studied. The living microbial biomass gradually decreased in the studied mineral soil layer from 0 to 1 m. Despite a twofold drop in biomass in the lower layers, its level remained sufficiently high (12-14 nmol FA/g soil). The coefficient of similarity of fatty acid composition of soils of forested and open sites was 0.85. The fatty acid richness decreased and distinctions in fatty acid profiles increased with depth of the mineral soil layer.
Related Concept Videos
Biosynthesis of Lipids
Membrane Lipids
Phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, and sphingomyelin are the most common phospholipids present in mammalian membranes. At physiological pH, phosphatidylserine is negatively charged, while the other three...
Phosphoinositides and PIPs
Different phosphoinositides are synthesized and recruited on the cytosolic face of the plasma membrane. The localization of specific phosphoinositides concentrated in separate membrane...
Asymmetric Lipid Bilayer
What are Lipids?
Soil Microbial Ecology

