Analysis of the Microbial Community in Soil Fertilized with Palm Oil Mill Effluent

Palm oil derived from the fruits of Elaeis guineensis Jacq. has a global economic importance and is largely produced in tropical regions. Brazil is one of the main global producers. Palm oil production process lead to a highly polluting waste called Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME). A strategy commonly used by producers to overcome environmental issues and to improve soil fertility is the reuse of POME as a fertilizer due to the chemical and biological characteristics of the effluent. In order to evaluate the impact of POME on soil bacterial diversity, three groups were analyzed: soil without POME application (control group - SP), and soil samples after 4 (P4) and 9 (P9) days of POME application. An environmental DNA metabarcoding approach was used. eDNA was extracted and the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified and sequenced in the Illumina MiSeq platform.