title: Changes in microbial community structure and function during vermicomposting of pig slurry.
abstract: Most studies investigating the effects of earthworms on microorganisms have focused on the changes before and after vermicomposting rather than those that occur throughout the process. In the present study, we designed continuous feeding reactors in which new layers of pig slurry (1.5 and 3 kg) were added sequentially to form an age gradient inside the reactors in order to evaluate the impact of the earthworm species Eisenia fetida on microbial community structure and function. The activity of earthworms greatly reduced the bacterial and fungal biomass and microbial diversity relative to the control values. However, the pronounced presence of earthworms in the younger layers stimulated microbial activity and as such increased carbon mineralization probably due to the fact that the microorganisms may have been less resource-limited as a result of earthworm activity, as indicated by the ratio of monounsaturated to saturated PLFAs.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ecología y Biología Animal, Universidade de Vigo, E-36310 Vigo, Spain. mariagomez@uvigo.es
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gómez-Brandón
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aira
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lores
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Domínguez
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D058448:Biota; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000378:metabolism; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D008372:Manure / Q000382:microbiology*; D009835:Oligochaeta / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000378:metabolism; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D013552:Swine; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D008372:Manure; D010743:Phospholipids; D002245:Carbon Dioxide