Identification of major increased T-RFs in T-RFLP profiles of hydrogen treated soil samples using molecular fingerpr[in]ting techniques

Abstract

In a previous study, twenty hydrogen-oxidizing bacterial strains showing positive plant root elongation effects were isolated. However, T-RFLP work showed that none of these isolates contributed to hydrogen induced TRF increases compared with air treated soil samples.

To study which bacterial groups are responsible for the major increased T-RFs in T-RFLP profiles of hydrogen-treated soil samples, a 16S rDNA library from hydrogen-treated soil samples was constructed utilizing the same DNA used to generate T-RFLP profiles. It showed that the major bacteria groups responsible for the observed hydrogen uptake in soil might belong to the phylum Actinobacteria. Comparisons between the T-RFLP profiles and the 16S rDNA library showed that the T-RFLP fingerprinting method does have the ability to reflect the diversity and structure of numerically dominant bacterial populations within complex microbial communities such as those found in soil.