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Schloter, M. ; Nannipieri, P.* ; Sørensen, S.J.* ; van Elsas, J.D.*

Microbial indicators for soil quality.

Biol. Fertil. Soils 54, DOI: 10.1007/s00374-017-1248-3 (2017)
DOI
Open Access Green as soon as Postprint is submitted to ZB.
The living soil is instrumental to key life support functions (LSF) that safeguard life on Earth. The soil microbiome has a main role as a driver of these LSF. Current global developments, like anthropogenic threats to soil (e.g., via intensive agriculture) and climate change, pose a burden on soil functioning. Therefore, it is important to dispose of robust indicators that report on the nature of deleterious changes and thus soil quality. There has been a long debate on the best selection of biological indicators (bioindicators) that report on soil quality. Such indicators should ideally describe organisms with key functions in the system, or with key regulatory/connecting roles (so-called keystone species). However, in the light of the huge functional redundancy in most soil microbiomes, finding specific keystone markers is not a trivial task. The current rapid development of molecular (DNA-based) methods that facilitate deciphering microbiomes with respect to key functions will enable the development of improved criteria by which molecular information can be tuned to yield molecular markers of soil LSF. This review critically examines the current state-of-the-art in molecular marker development and recommends avenues to come to improved future marker systems.
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Publication type Article: Journal article
Document type Scientific Article
Corresponding Author
Keywords Indicators ; Life Support Functions ; Microbial Diversity ; Soil Microbiome; Maize Lines; In-situ; Diversity; Rhizosphere; Microorganisms; Communities; Variability; Efficiency; Ecology; Genes
ISSN (print) / ISBN 0178-2762
e-ISSN 1432-0789
Journal Biology and Fertility of Soils
Quellenangaben Volume: 54, Issue: 1 Pages: , Article Number: , Supplement: ,
Publisher Springer
Publishing Place New York
Non-patent literature Publications
Reviewing status Peer reviewed
Institute(s) Research Unit Comparative Microbiome Analysis (COMI)