13C wheat - 16S rRNA pyrosequencing of gradient fractions
Soil microcosms amended with 13C wheat Targeted Locus
To identify soil bacteria assimilating carbon from whole plants, we incubated soil from (cattle) pasture and natural beech forest with 13C-labelled wheat roots in microcosms for 72 hours. The degradation of the plant material was followed by measuring total CO2 and 13CO2. Pyrosequencing of density-resolved 16S rRNA identified soil bacteria involved in the assimilation of carbon from wheat residues.