Effects of fresh cattle manure on the composition of soil microbial communities, and vice versa

We examined the composition of microbial communities in laboratory microcosms established with fresh manure (dairy cow) and soil from two farms (S and B) to analyze the effect of manure on soil microbial communities and vice versa, i.e., the effect of soil on manure microbial communities. We sequenced the 16S rRNA gene (515F-806R primers) to identify bacterial taxa in 186 samples, including control manure (Ex), manure on natural soil (C1) and manure on gamma-irradiated soil (D1); also control soil (A), the soil under manure (C2) and gamma-irradiated soil under manure (D2). Microcosms were sampled on days 2, 7, 14, 28 and 84. Two independent experiments were set up using soil from farms S and B. Three replicates per treatment, time and experiment were sampled. Fresh manure at the time of sampling (i.e. day 0) was also included.