Biochemical Analysis of Biomass, Community Structure, Nutritional Status, and Metabolic Activity of Microbial Communities in Soil
Anders Tunlid, David C. White
Abstract
Components that are generally present in all cells are utilized as a measure of biomass, the components that are restricted to subsets of the microbial community are utilized to define the community structure. Biochemical methods have also been utilized to indicate the nutritional status of microorganisms in natural environments, and the metabolic activity of the microbial community can be estimated by measuring the rate of isotope incorporation from labeled precursors. In contrast with the chloroform fumigation methods, the biochemical methods give information on biomass and community structure, as well as on the metabolic activity of the microflora. The ester-linked fatty acids in the phospholipids are currently the most sensitive and the most useful chemical measures of microbial community structure. Potential problems with defining microbial community structure by analysis of phospholipid fatty acids could result from a shift in fatty acid composition of some monocultures with changes in temperature and media composition.