Soils and roots of Populus deltoides x Populus trichocarpa Targeted loci environmental

To evaluate the persistence and colonization of Sphaerulina musiva when in soils and plant roots, we inoculated soils with two different strains of S. musiva (SARM07 and Mn5) as well as a water control. Roots and soils were destructively sampled at days 10 and 25 Post-inoculation. Soils were also non-destructively sampled prior to inoculation to control for any pre-existing structuring in soil communities. Genomic DNA was extracted from samples and the ITS2 and V4 regions were amplified.