Agricultural soils, Montana and Oklahoma, marker gene sequencing
Soil microbial communities are fundamental to ecosystem processes and plant growth, yet community composition is seasonally and successionally dynamic, which interferes with long-term iterative experimentation of plant-microbe interactions. We explore how soil sample handling (e.g. filtering) and sample storage conditions impact the ability to revive the original, physiologically active, soil microbial community. Marcus T. Brock, Department of Botany 3165, 1000 E. University Ave., University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA