[EBOOK] SOIL BIOLOGY - Advanced Techniques in Soil Microbiology, Ajit Varma and Ralf Oelmuller, Published by Springer

There is general belief and admission that important, innovative and novel ideas emerge over a cup of ‘Indian Darjeeling tea’ or a glass of ‘German beer’. The editors of this book were sipping a cup of tea on the lush green garden lawns of North Maharastra University, Jalgaon, India. The weather was congenial and most suitable for materializations of original ideas. The genesis of this book underlines the concept developed in 2006.

The field of microbiology began concurrently with the discovery of microorganisms by two Fellows of The Royal Society, Robert Hooke and Antony van Leeuwenhoek, during the period 1665-1683. Later, during the golden era of microbiology, noted scientists Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch laid a sound foundation for the modern microbiology. The study of microorganisms has became a valuable science in the last 100 years as it has provided both the means to control a number of infectious diseases and the experimental systems for the development of molecular biology. New developments in biotechnology and environmental microbiology signify that microbiology will continue to be an exciting field of study in the future. Various modern tools and techniques are required for a proper understanding of the roles of microbes in the causation of infectious diseases and the recycling of chemical elements in the biosphere. Assorted laboratory experiments not only motivate researchers and students by stimulating interest and enjoyment but also enhance the acquisition of scientific knowledge along with the development of ‘scientific attitudes’, such as open-mindedness and objectivity.

There are numerous textbooks and review papers dealing with state-of-the-art of various aspects of molecular biology of microorganisms. However, the readers get lost in initiating the experiments due to lack of suitable and easy protocols. They have to search for diverse methods and techniques in a variety of literature and journals and still do not obtain the complete information dealing with the protocols in a concise manner. This book is an attempt to overcome the inherent cumbersome search process. Every effort was made to present the protocols in a very simple manner for easy understanding of undergraduate, graduates, postgraduates, post doctorates, active scientists and researchers.

Soil, the main contributor to plant nourishment, is the top layer of the Earth’s surface and consists of rock and mineral particles mixed with organic matter. Soil microbiology is the study of the microorganisms in soil, their functions, and the consequences of their activities on the nature of the soil and the effect on the growth and health of plant life. Just a few grams of soil, less than a teaspoonful, may contain hundreds of millions to billions of microbes. Not only is the total number of microorganisms in fertile soil quite high, but also, together, they weigh a lot. Soil microbial biomass can range from several hundred to thousands of pounds per acre.

The most plentiful microbes in soil are one-celled bacteria and fungi, which produce long, slender strings of cells called filaments or hyphae. The actinomy-cetes come between these two organisms. It is the actinomycetes that give soil its characteristic earthy smell. In this volume, the editors have accumulated various advanced molecular approaches for studying the different soil microorganisms for the benefit of humankind. Different techniques for measuring microbial biomass and activity in soil have been developed. Primers in Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) techniques for species identification and other forgotten tools like quantitative histochemistry are discussed in details in this book with the hope that this would promote the understanding of microbes by students and advanced researchers alike.

The editors have brought together the diverse topics related to various aspects of molecular approaches to the detection of soil microbes, namely assessing and detecting soil micro-fungal diversity and providing insight into their feasibility. Various problems associated with the dilution plating technique, importance of the rDNA gene in fungal systematics, the reliability of other molecular approaches (especially Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis) and their drawbacks are discussed. Various modern tools and techniques like automated fluorescent DNA sequencing strategy, mRNA quantitation using real time PGR, RNAi technology, transcriptome analysis and immuno-techniques are handled by subject experts of these specific fields for clear and easy understanding for all. Different widely used methods like fatty acid methylester (FAME), phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analyses and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) are elucidated with their advantages and limitations outlined. DGGE and RISA protocols for microbial community analysis in soil are also one of the highlights of this book.

The soil zone located in and around the active roots is called the rhizosphere. This zone has high microbial activity. Materials released from roots, called exudates, create a food-rich environment for the growth of microorganisms. Rhi-zosphere microorganisms in turn help plants by fixing nitrogen from the soil air, dissolving soil minerals and decomposing organic matter, all of which allow roots to obtain essential nutrients. Plant-Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPRs) generate a variety of chemicals that stimulate plant growth. The bacteria grow and persist in the rhizosphere of non-woody roots. Various screening methods for PGPRs are described in this book.

A special kind of fungus called mycorrhizae also associates with higher plants. By colonizing large areas of roots and reaching out into the soil, mycorrhizae assist in transport of soil nutrients and water into the plant. The latest methods for conducting experiments and research in mycorrhiza have been described. Cultivation of a group of mycorrhiza-like fungi belonging to family Sebacinales is enumerated. One of the members of Sebacinales which provides stress tolerance activity against heavy metals and induced pathogen resistance in cereals is discussed.

Authors have brought forth diverse approaches and methods to study the mechanisms behind the observed pathogen resistance induced by Piriformos-pora indica.

Model organism A. thallium was used as the plant partner to understand the molecular basis for beneficial plant/microbe interactions and this is also discussed in this edition. Several other techniques like ion cyclotron resonance Fourier transform mass spectrometry (ICR-FT/MS) for non-targeted metabo-lomics of molecular interactions in the rhizosphere are presented. Immuno-technology for the localization of acid phosphatase using native gel bands in p. itidica and other soil microorganism are elaborated in this volume of the Soil Biology series.

We are grateful to the many people who helped to bring this volume to light. We wish to thank Dr. Dieter Czeschlik and Dr. Jutta Lindenborn, Springer Heidelberg, for generous assistance and patience in finalizing the volume. Finally, specific thanks go to our families, immediate, and extended, not forgetting those who have passed away, for their support or their incentives in putting everything together. Ajit Varma in particular is very thankful to Dr. Ashok K. Chauhan, Founder President of the Ritnand Balved Fducation Foundation (an umbrella organization of Amity Institutions), New Delhi, for the kind support and constant encouragement received. Special thanks are due to my esteemed friend and well-wisher Professor Dr. Sunil Saran, Director General, Amity Institute of Biotechnology and Adviser to Founder President, Amity Universe, all faculty colleagues Drs. Amit c. Kharkwal, Harsha Kharkwal, Shwet Kamal, Neeraj Verma, Atimanav Gaur and Debkumari Sharma and my Ph.D. students Ms. Aparajita Das, Mr. Ram Prasad, Ms. Manisha Sharma, Ms. Sreelekha Chat-terjee, Ms. Swati Tripathi, Mr. Vipin Mohan Dan and Ms. Geetanjali Chauhan. The technical support received from Mr. Anil Chandra Bahukhandi is highly appreciated.

[EBOOK] SOIL BIOLOGY - Advanced Techniques in Soil Microbiology, Ajit Varma and Ralf Oelmuller, Published by Springer

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