Development of phosphatase oligonucleotide primer

In this study seven oligonucleotide primers are presented which target genes coding for microbial acid and alkaline phosphatases (phoN, phoD), phytases (appA), phosphonatases (phnX) as well as the quinoprotein glucose dehydrogenase (gcd) and different P transporters (pitA, pstS). Illumina amplicon sequencing of soil genomic DNA underlined the high rate of primer specificity towards the respective target gene which usually ranged between 98 % and 100 % (phoN: 87 %). The primers amplified genes from a broad diversity of distinct microorganisms when using DNA from a beech dominated forest soil. The highest microbial diversity was detected for the alkaline phosphatase gene (phoD) which was amplified from 15 distinct phyla respectively 81 families. The primers also allowed amplification of phoD from 6 fungal orders. The introduced primers represent a valuable tool for further analysis of the microbial community involved in the turnover of phosphorus in soils but most likely also in other environments.