Response of Total (DNA) and Metabolically Active (RNA) Microbial Communities in <i>Miscanthus × Giganteus</i> Cultivated Soil to Different Nitrogen Fertilization Rates
Jihoon Yang, Jae‐Jin Lee, Jinlyung Choi, Lanying Ma, Emily A. Heaton, Adina Howe
Abstract
is a promising candidate for bioeconomy cropping systems; however, it remains unclear how the soil microbiome supplies nitrogen to this low-input crop. DNA-based techniques are used to provide community characterization, but may miss important metabolically active taxa. By analyzing both DNA- and actively transcribed RNA-based microbial communities, we found that nitrogen cycling taxa in the soil microbiome may be underestimated using only DNA-based approaches. Accurately understanding the role of microbes and how they cycle nutrients is important for the development of sustainable bioenergy crops, and RNA-based approaches are recommended as a complement to DNA approaches to better understand the microbial, plant, and management interactions.