Soil microbial community analysis using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphisms

Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis is a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-fingerprinting method that is commonly used for comparative microbial community analysis. The method can be used to analyze communities of bacteria, archaea, fungi, other phylogenetic groups or subgroups, as well as functional genes. The method is rapid, highly reproducible, and often yields a higher number of operational taxonomic units than other, commonly used PCR-fingerprinting methods. Sizing of terminal restriction fragments (T-RFs) can now be done using capillary sequencing technology allowing samples contained in 96- or 384-well plates to be sized in an overnight run. Many multivariate statistical approaches have been used to interpret and compare T-RFLP fingerprints derived from different communities. Detrended correspondence analysis and the additive main effects with multiplicative interaction model are particularly useful for revealing trends in T-RFLP data. Due to biases inherent in the method, linking the size of T-RFs derived from complex communities to existing sequence databases to infer their taxonomic position is not very robust. This approach has been used successfully, however, to identify and follow the dynamics of members within very simple or model communities. The T-RFLP approach has been used successfully to analyze the composition of microbial communities in soil, water, marine, and lacustrine sediments, biofilms, feces, in and on plant tissues, and in the digestive tracts of insects and mammals. The T-RFLP method is a user-friendly molecular approach to microbial community analysis that is adding significant information to studies of microbial populations in many environments.

Nitrogen-15 signals of leaf-litter-soil continuum as a possible indicator of ecosystem nitrogen saturation by forest succession and N loads

National Key Research and Development Program [2010CB833502]; National Natural Science Foundation of China [30600071, 40601097, 30590381]; Chinese Academy of Sciences [KZCX2-YW-432, O7V70080SZ, LENOM07LS-01]; GUCAS [O85101PM03]

Impact of cloudiness on net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide in different types of forest ecosystems in China

Asia 3 Foresight Program [30721140307]; National Key Research and Development Program [2010CB833500]; National Natural Science Foundation of China [30590381, 30900198];

Effects of multiple environmental factors on CO2 emission and CH4 uptake from old-growth forest soils

National Key Research and Development Program [2010CB833502]; National Natural Science Foundation of China [30600071, 40601097, 30590381, 30721140307]; Knowledge Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences [KZCX2-YW-432, O7V70080SZ, LENOM07LS-01

Use of Ecosystem Flux Data and a Simulation Model to Examine Seasonal Drought Effects on a Subtropical Coniferous Forest

National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) [30670384, 30590381]

Environmental controls over carbon exchange of three forest ecosystems in eastern China

National Natural Science Foundation of China [30590381, 30670384]; Knowledge Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences [KZCX2-YW-432]; National Key Research and Development Program [2002CB412501]; 'Hundred Talents' Program of the Chinese Acade

Spatial and temporal flows of China's forest resources: Development of a framework for evaluating resource efficiency

Science & Technology Basic Work Program of China: Scientific Survey of the Middle-lower Reaches of Lantsang River and the Great Shangri-La Region [2008FY110300]; National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program): Ecosystem Services and Ecological Safety of the Major Terrestrial Ecosystems of China [2009CB421106]; National Natural Science Foundation of China [30670374]; EU ; European Commission, DG Research [003874]