Soil substrate membrane systems allow for microcultivation of fastidious soil bacteria as mixed microbial communities. We isolated established microcolonies from these membranes by using fluorescence viability staining and micromanipulation. This approach facilitated the recovery of diverse, novel isolates, including the recalcitrant bacterium Leifsonia xyli, a plant pathogen that has never bee...

Temperature sensitivity of soil respiration is dependent on readily decomposable C substrate concentration A. A. Larionova, I. V. Yevdokimov, and S. S. Bykhovets Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science, RAS, 142290, Institutskaya 2, Pushchino, Moscow region, Russia Received: 16 May 2007 – Accepted: 13 June 2007 – Published: 26 June 2007 Correspondence to: I. V. Yevd...

The recently developed transparent soil consists of particles of Nafion, a polymer with a low refractive index (RI), which is prepared by milling and chemical treatment for use as a soil analog. After the addition of a RI-matched solution, confocal imaging can be carried out in vivo and without destructive sampling. In a previous study, we showed that the new substrate provides a good approxima...

A solid-state bioprocess with wheat bran and rice husk as substrate was used to isolate filamentous fungi with lipase activity from dairy effluent and soil contaminated with diesel oil. The lipase activity was measured in units, with one unit (U) being defined as the amount of enzyme required to liberate 1 micromol of fatty acids per minute per gram of bran substrate (1 U = 1 micromol min(-1) g...

The ability of Hirsutella rhossiliensis to colonize various substrates in sterile and nonsterile soil was measured. Hirsutella rhossiliensis was recovered from 67% and 77% of living, inoculated Criconemella xenoplax incubated in sterile and nonsterile soil, respectively. In contrast, the fungus was recovered from 100% and 18% of heat-killed, inoculated nematodes incubated on sterile and nonster...

These experiments compared the sensitivity of four different types of bioassay over time after five metals were added to a wide range of soils at the maximum concentrations in the European Union Sewage Sludge Directive. Three were chronic assays (most probable number of Rhizobium leguminosarum, soil microbial C and Biolog substrate utilization). The fourth bioassay, an acute biosensor, employed...

The effects of water stress upon the diversity and culturable activity of bacterial communities in the rhizosphere of an established upland grassland soil have been investigated. Intact monoliths were subjected to different watering regimens over a 2-month period to study community adaptation to moisture limitation and subsequent response to stress alleviation following rewetting. Genetic diver...

Understanding rhizosphere processes in relation to increasing atmospheric CO(2) concentrations is important for predicting the response of forest ecosystems to environmental changes, because rhizosphere processes are intimately linked with nutrient cycling and soil organic matter decomposition, both of which feedback to tree growth and soil carbon storage. Plants grown in elevated CO(2) substan...