Elsevier

Pedosphere

Volume 18, Issue 5, October 2008, Pages 621-627
Pedosphere

PCR-DGGE Analysis of Nematode Diversity in Cu-Contaminated Soil*1

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1002-0160(08)60056-9Get rights and content

Abstract

A wheat pot experiment was conducted under greenhouse conditions to assess the effect of copper contamination on soil nematode diversity by polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) method and morphological analysis. The soil was treated with CuSO4·5H2O at the following concentrations: 0, 50, 100, 200, 400, and 800 mg kg−1 dry soil, and the soil samples were collected at wheat jointing and ripening stages. Nematode diversity index (H′) from morphological analysis showed no difference between the control and the treated samples in either of the sampling dates. At the wheat ripening stage, nematode diversity obtained by the PCR-DGGE method decreased noticeably in the Cu800 treatment in comparison with the control. With optimization of the method of nematode DNA extraction, PCR-DGGE could give more information on nematode genera, and the intensity of the bands could reflect the abundance of nematode genera in the assemblage. The PCR-DGGE method proved promising in distinguishing nematode diversity in heavy metal contaminated soil.

References (25)

  • T. Bongers
  • K. Ekschmitt et al.

    Nematodes as sentinels of heavy metals and organic toxicants in the soil

    J. Nematol.

    (2006)
  • Cited by (11)

    • A comparison of molecular methods for monitoring soil nematodes and their use as biological indicators

      2010, European Journal of Soil Biology
      Citation Excerpt :

      Interestingly the authors argued that the analytical result obtained by morphology may not always reflect the ‘true’ community because only 150 individuals per sample were examined without replication, due to the laboriousness of the morphological identification [53]. Wang et al. (2008) assessed the effect of copper contamination on soil nematode diversity by PCR-DGGE and morphological analysis, and found that PCR-DGGE could give more information on nematode genera, and the intensity of the bands could reflect the abundance of nematode genera in the assemblage [73]. Hamilton et al. (2009) compared the results obtained using DNA sequence-based molecular approach to results obtained using a traditional, microscopy-based approach and found that the results were broadly similar [36].

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    *1

    Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30600087) and the Knowledge Innovation Program of Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. 06LYQY5001).

    View full text