Ralf Oelmüller – författare

"Advanced Techniques in Soil Microbiology" presents a wide range of biotechnological methods for application in soil microbiology analysis. These include all essential methods involving molecular biology, immunology, microbiology, and structural biology, such as transcriptome analysis, RNAi technology, molecular matchmaking, RAPD, T-RFLP and FT/MS.

The techniques and procedures have been selected with the aim of offering practical guides for immediate use in the laboratory. The systems investigated range from individual molecules and cells to entire eukaryotic organisms, with a focus on bacteria, fungi, mycorrhiza, and higher plants. This volume of state-of-the-art, practice oriented methods will be of great use both to the first-timer and to the experienced scientist.

Sebacinales have emerged as a fascinating order with mutualistic plant-fungal symbionts that consists of exclusively beneficial fungi.

This volume of Soil Biology presents an overview of the current results in Sebacinales research with a focus on the potential of these fungi in crop improvement and stress tolerance. The authors demonstrate that Sebacinales are not only extremely versatile in their associations with roots, but are also almost universally present as symptomless endophytes. With this extraordinary diversity, Sebacinales with the key fungus Piriformospora indica might possess remarkable significance in natural ecosystems. Their biotechnological applications are expected to improve the quality of crops while maintaining ecologically and economically sustainable production systems.