Assessment of soil microbial community structure by use of taxon-specific quantitative PCR assays

Authors: Fierer, N, JA Jackson, R Vilgalys, RB Jackson

Here we describe a quantitative PCR-based approach to estimate the relative abundances of major taxonomic groups of bacteria and fungi in soil. Primers were thoroughly tested for specificity and the method was applied to three distinct soils. The technique provides a rapid and robust index of microbial community structure.

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