Transparent soil microcosms for live-cell imaging and non-destructive stable isotope probing of soil microorganisms.

ABSTRACT: Microscale processes are critically important to soil ecology and biogeochemistry yet are difficult to study due to soil's opacity and complexity. To advance the study of soil processes, we constructed transparent soil microcosms that enable the visualization of microbes via fluorescence microscopy and the non-destructive measurement of microbial activity and carbon uptake in situ via Raman microspectroscopy. We assessed the polymer Nafion and the crystal cryolite as optically transparent soil substrates. We demonstrated that both substrates enable the growth, maintenance, and visualization of microbial cells in three dimensions over time, and are compatible with stable isotope probing using Raman. We applied this system to ascertain that after a dry-down/rewetting cycle, bacteria on and n

SUBMITTER: Sharma K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7609051 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature