PLFA analysis (Nothofagaceae)

Knowledge graph centered on PLFA analysis (Nothofagaceae) with 17 nodes and 36 connections. Top connected: Elevation alters ecosystem properties across tempe, Bacteria, elevational gradients, species diversity, Holshof & Swenson trait sampling protocol.

Method synopsis

Standard PLFA extraction and analysis to characterize soil microbial community structure and biomass, with different fatty acids representing bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes.

Synthesized from method descriptions across 1 paper using this protocol.

Procedure from a recent peer-reviewed implementation

Steps below were extracted from the most recent peer-reviewed implementation of this protocol in the corpus — Elevation alters ecosystem properties across temperate treelines globally (2017), Nature. Implementations in other papers (listed below) may differ.

1. Assess microbial community using PLFA analysis
   To assess the microbial community on a 1 g subsample of each soil sample, different PLFAs represent different subsets of the soil microbes. Each subsample was amended with 20 mg glucose, placed in a 130 ml airtight vessel, and incubated at 22°C for 3 h. Evolution of CO₂ between 1 h and 3 h was then determined by headspace sampling 1 ml subsamples into a headspace gas analyser (PP systems). Soil PLFA abundance was expressed as relative nanomoles per gram using standard nomenclature for each fatty acid.
   Quantities: 1 g soil subsample, 20 mg glucose, 130 ml airtight vessel, incubated at 22°C for 3 hoursDuration: 3 hours incubation, CO₂ measurements between 1h and 3hConditions: 22°C incubation temperature
   Equipment: headspace gas analyser (PP systems)

Typical Equipment

• headspace gas analyser (PP systems)

Output Measurements

• microbial biomass
• bacterial abundance
• fungal abundance
• actinomycete abundance

Papers Using This Protocol (1)

Species Studied With This Protocol