Linking Microbial Community Structure and Function within the Acidified Soils of the Palouse.

As much as 40% of farmed lands globally suffer from soil acidification and associated aluminum (Al) toxicity issues.  However, little is understood about the basic structure and function of soil microbial communities in recently acidified (<40yrs) agricultural soils such as those present in the Palouse region of Eastern Washington. Initial work with basic community profiling techniques (T-RFLP) revealed community composition strongly influenced by Al bioavailability, rather than pH or depth, but a clear relationship between the decreased agricultural productivity, acidity, and impacts on the microbial community were not entirely clear.  Through the combination of metals-targeted functional gene array analysis (GeoChip 5), next generation sequencing of bacterial and fungal communities, and traditional cultivation-based analysis of Al tolerance and resistance, we are beginning to understand how microbial community structure and function are linked to ecosystem services and agricultural productivity in these recently acidified, high Al soils.