A study was conducted to evaluate the. use of volatile organic microbial metabolites, particularly geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol, as indicators of activity of specific groups of microorganisms (actinomycetes, bacteria, or fungi) in soil. Substrates and selective antibiotics were added to soil microcosms to establish different soil microbial communities; volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the...

Some agricultural lands located in the Vromos Bay area, near the Black Sea coast, Southeastern Bulgaria, have been Ž . Ž . contaminated with radioactive elements uranium, radium and thorium and toxic heavy metals copper, cadmium and lead as a result of mining and mineral processing of polymetallic ores. Laboratory experiments carried out with soil samples from these lands revealed that an effic...

There is increasing evidence that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) play essential roles in communication and competition between soil microorganisms. Here we assessed volatile-mediated interactions of a synthetic microbial community in a model system that mimics the natural conditions in the heterogeneous soil environment along the rhizosphere. Phylogenetic different soil bacterial isolates (B...

Isoprene (2-methyl-1,3 butadiene) is a low-molecular-weight hydrocarbon emitted in large quantities to the atmosphere by vegetation and plays a large role in regulating atmospheric chemistry. Until now, the atmosphere has been considered the only significant sink for isoprene. However, in this study we performed both in situ and in vitro experiments with soil from a temperate forest near Ithaca...

BACKGROUND Zinc is an essential micronutrient used in the form of zinc sulfate in fertilizers in the agriculture production system. Nitrogen-fixing microorganisms are also of considerable value in promoting soil fertility. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to investigate the degree of sensitivity to varying concentrations of zinc, in the form of ZnSO4, in different strains of Azotobacter chroococcu...

BACKGROUND A climate-controlled pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of planting alfalfa and applying organic fertilizer on the dissipation of benzo[a]pyrene from an aged contaminated agricultural soil. RESULTS Short-term planting of alfalfa inhibited the dissipation of benzo[a]pyrene from the soil by 8.9%, and organic fertilizer enhanced benzo[a]pyrene removal from the soi...

A large proportion of the global soil carbon pool is stored in soils of high-latitude ecosystems in which microbial processes and production of greenhouse gases proceed during the winter months. It has been suggested that microorganisms have limited ability to sequester substrates at temperatures around and below 0 °C and that a metabolic shift to dominance of catabolic processes occurs around ...

Modern techniques involving molecular biology, such as metagenomics, have the advantage of exploiting a higher number of microorganisms; however, classic isolation and culture methods used to obtain antimicrobials continue to be promising, especially in the isolation of Actinobacteria, which are responsible for the production of many of these compounds. In this work, two methodologies were used...

The meals from many oilseed crops have potential for biofumigation due to their release of biocidal compounds such as isothiocyanates (ITCs). Various ITCs are known to inhibit numerous pathogens; however, much less is known about how the soil microbial community responds to the different types of ITCs released from oilseed meals (SMs). To simulate applying ITC-releasing SMs to soil, we amended ...

Plant roots can establish associations with neutral, beneficial and pathogenic groups of soil organisms. Although it has been recognized from the study of individual isolates that these associations are individually important for plant growth, little is known about interactions of whole assemblages of beneficial and pathogenic microorganisms associating with plants.We investigated the influence...