1 Scope
The present document specifies a method for direct extraction of DNA from soil samples
to analyse the abundance and composition of microbial communities by various techniques
of molecular biology including real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). This method is mainly
dedicated to agricultural and forest soils. This method can possibly not be suitable
for soils rich in organic matter (e.g. peat soils) or soils heavily polluted with
organic pollutants or heavy metals.
The direct extraction of DNA from soil samples provides unique insight into the α-
and β-diversity of microbial communities. Next-generation sequencing of amplicons
obtained by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) amplification of soil DNA constitutes a promising domain which will in the near future contribute to the development
of routine tools to monitor microbial communities in soil environments.