Rhizosphere bacterial community 16S rDNA sequencing

The soil microbial community function varies depending on both plant species and distance from rhizoplane, and it is still unclear how microbial community composition regulate the microbial community function. We hypothesized that both soil microbial community composition and function can exhibit rhizosphere effects with legume and grass showing different modification, and that soil micrbial community composition is more effective in regulating function than community composition. Two contrasting plant species (legume vs grass) were grown in specially designed rhizoboxes to test this hypothesis.