Analysis of fungal diversity in the wheat rhizosphere by sequencing of cloned PCR-amplified genes encoding 18S rRNA and temperature gradient gel electrophoresis.

ABSTRACT: Like bacteria, fungi play an important role in the soil ecosystem. As only a small fraction of the fungi present in soil can be cultured, conventional microbiological techniques yield only limited information on the composition and dynamics of fungal communities in soil. DNA-based methods do not depend on the culturability of microorganisms, and therefore they offer an attractive alternative for the study of complex fungal community structures. For this purpose, we designed various PCR primers that allow the specific amplification of fungal 18S-ribosomal-DNA (rDNA) sequences, even in the presence of nonfungal 18S rDNA. DNA was extracted from the wheat rhizosphere, and 18S rDNA gene banks were constructed in Escherichia coli by cloning PCR products generated with primer pairs EF4-EF3 (1. 4

SUBMITTER: Smit E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC91386 | biostudies-literature | 1999 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature