Active root-inhabiting microbes identified by rapid incorporation of plant-derived carbon into RNA.

Plant roots harbor a large diversity of microorganisms that have an essential role in ecosystem functioning. To better understand the level of intimacy of root-inhabiting microbes such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and bacteria, we provided (13)CO(2) to plants at atmospheric concentration during a 5-h pulse. We expected microbes dependent on a carbon flux from their host plant to become rapidly labeled.

Lipid content and carbon assimilation in Collembola: implications for the use of compound-specific carbon isotope analysis in animal dietary studies.

In an effort to understand the relationships between both the lipid content and delta13C values of Collembola and their diet, isotopically labelled (C3 and C4) bakers' yeasts were cultured and fed to two Collembolan species, Folsomia candida and Proisotoma minuta. The fatty acid composition of Collembola generally reflected that of the diet with the addition of the polyunsaturated components 18:2(n-6), 20:4(n-6) and 20:5(n-3), which appeared to be biosynthesised by the Collembola. Whilst ergosterol was the only sterol detected in the yeast diets, only cholesterol was detected in Collembola, and although the delta13C values of diet and consumer sterols differed by >2 per thousand, the delta13C values indicated that cholesterol was derived entirely from dietary sterol.

Compound-specific stable isotope analysis of soil mesofauna using thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation for ecological investigations.

Stable isotope mass spectrometric approaches are proving to be valuable tools in unravelling biotic interactions in complex ecosystems, yielding information on trophic preferences and functional roles of individual species. Gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC/C/IRMS) provides considerable opportunities to assist in studies concerned with ecosystem processes mediated by soil invertebrates and microorganisms by determination of delta(13)C values of individual compounds, for example, lipids, amino acids etc. However, techniques conventionally adopted for "wet" chemical extractions and derivatizations necessary for compound-specific stable isotope determinations restrict the size of soil organism that can be studied and can limit investigations of individuals or even parts of individuals.

Rapid turnover of hyphae of mycorrhizal fungi determined by AMS microanalysis of 14C.

Processes in the soil remain among the least well-characterized components of the carbon cycle. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are ubiquitous root symbionts in many terrestrial ecosystems and account for a large fraction of photosynthate in a wide range of ecosystems; they therefore play a key role in the terrestrial carbon cycle. A large part of the fungal mycelium is outside the root (the extraradical mycelium, ERM) and, because of the dispersed growth pattern and the small diameter of the hyphae (<5 micrometers), exceptionally difficult to study quantitatively.

Technical considerations for RNA-based stable isotope probing: an approach to associating microbial diversity with microbial community function.

An ongoing challenge within microbial ecology is the development of methodologies that attribute microbial community functions to microbial diversity. One approach, involving the incorporation of stable isotopes from labelled tracer compounds into biological signature molecules (biomarkers), may overcome this current limitation. To examine the potential of RNA as the biomarker in stable isotope probing we have generated a series of atom % (13)C-enriched RNA samples through exploitation of the anabolic abilities of a phenol-degrading environmental isolate.

Identification of active methylotroph populations in an acidic forest soil by stable-isotope probing.

Stable-isotope probing (SIP) is a culture-independent technique that enables the isolation of DNA from micro-organisms that are actively involved in a specific metabolic process. In this study, SIP was used to characterize the active methylotroph populations in forest soil (pH 3.5) microcosms that were exposed to (13)CH(3)OH or (13)CH(4).

Elevated CO2, litter chemistry, and decomposition: a synthesis.

The results of published and unpublished experiments investigating the impacts of elevated [CO2] on the chemistry of leaf litter and decomposition of plant tissues are summarized. The data do not support the hypothesis that changes in leaf litter chemistry often associated with growing plants under elevated [CO2] have an impact on decomposition processes. A meta-analysis of data from naturally senesced leaves in field experiments showed that the nitrogen (N) concentration in leaf litter was 7.