Identification of roots from grass swards using PCR-RFLP and FFLP of the plastid trnL (UAA) intron.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The specific associations between plant roots and the soil microbial community are key to understanding nutrient cycling in grasslands, but grass roots can be difficult to identify using morphology alone. A molecular technique to identify plant species from root DNA would greatly facilitate investigations of the root rhizosphere.

Results

We show that trnL PCR product length heterogeneity and a maximum of two restriction digests can separate 14 common grassland species. The RFLP key was used to identify root fragments at least to genus level in a field study of upland grassland community diversity. Roots which could not be matched to known types were putatively identified by comparison of the nuclear ribosomal ITS sequence to the GenBank database. Ten taxa were ide

SUBMITTER: Ridgway KP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC270044 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature