Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
Commentary
Introduction to Soil Microbiology
Author(s): Kibret M*
The early phases of soil microbiology were often dominated by attempts to characterize soil populations using culture techniques through laboratory growth on selective (favors a particular group of microbes over others) or non-selective media. While these attempts produced valuable information, little more could be said other than that there was some number of colony-forming-units per gram (CFU g–1) of soil. We are becoming increasingly aware that our knowledge of the soil microbial community is far from complete. We have learned that many microbes in the soil exist in a “viable (alive) but nonculturable” state. It has long been observed that as many as 99% of microorganisms in a given soil sample, as quantified using microscopy or another direct technique, are not detected using traditional culture-based methods. This has led many to surmise that the vast majority (.. View More»