Quantitative PCR Pipelines: Linking Agricultural Management to Microbial Ecosystem Processes.

Soil biologists now routinely extract the DNA of the entire soil microbiome and use different molecular tools to explore the previously hidden diversity of the below-ground ecosystem. One of these tools, quantitative PCR (qPCR), is a rapid, cost-effective, and sensitive method for determining the capacity of the soil microbiome to perform a particular function. In agricultural research, qPCR is typically used to investigate how different management practices impact microbe-mediated biogeochemical cycling processes. Most studies quantify specific genes relevant to the process under investigation; for example a study assessing how tillage impacts greenhouse gas production might analyse one or more genes associated with denitrification. Microbes however, don’t exist as uni-functional communities and no single process occurs in isolation. This talk will provide specific examples of how a qPCR pipeline that targets multiple inter-related processes can be coupled with soil nutrient data to shed insight into microbial functioning in the soil environment. This integrated approach will help address the challenge of linking agricultural practice change to beneficial ecosystem processes.