Community structure of bacteria and fungi responsible for rice straw decomposition in a paddy field estimated by PCR-RFLP analysis

Rice straw including leaf sheaths and blades put in nylon mesh bags was placed in the plow layer of a Japanese paddy field after harvest under upland conditions and after transplanting of rice seedlings under flooded conditions. In addition, rice straw that was decomposed under the upland conditions during the off-crop season in winter was placed again in soil at the time of transplanting. The materials were collected periodically to analyze the community structure of the bacteria and fungi responsible for rice straw decomposition by PCR-RFLP analysis. The PCR products with 27f and 1492r primers designed for bacterial 16S rDNA and with EF3 and EF4 primers designed for fungal 18S rDNA were digested with four restriction endonucleases (Hinf I, Sau3A I, Hae III, EeoR I). Bacterial communities in the decomposing rice straw were different from each other between upland and flooded conditions, between leaf sheaths and blades, and between straw samples with and without decomposition under upland conditions during the off-crop season. Fungal communities in the decomposing rice straw were also different between the leaf sheaths and blades under upland soil conditions. Score plots of bacterial and fungal communities in the principal component analysis were separated from the plot of the straw materials along with the duration of the placement, indicating the succession of bacterial and fungal communities in decomposing rice straw with time.