Soil Microbial Community Analysis (PLFA)
Soil phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis provides a real-time snapshot of the "living" soil microbial community structure.
Laboratory Services - Soil Microbial Community Analysis
MIDI Labs provides soil microbial community analysis through our sister company, Microbial ID, Inc. Reports include microbial biomass and key biomarkers, with data returned in an easy-to-use Excel spreadsheet. In addition to PLFA, Microbial ID offers Neutral Lipid Fatty Acid (NLFA) analysis, Ester-Linked Fatty Acid (EL-FAME) analysis and Whole-cell fatty acid (FAME) analysis. Microbial ID uses the MIDI Sherlock PLFA Analysis System. International samples are accepted for soil samples. Please contact Microbial ID for further details:
Automated Systems - PLFA Analysis for GC and GC-MS
Multiple different Gas Chromatography (GC) and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS) methods and instrument types have been used to determine PLFA profiles. However, most of this analysis is performed manually, is laborious and potentially error-prone. In 2012, MIDI Lab's sister company, MIDI, Inc., released the Sherlock™ PLFA Method and Tools Package (PLFAD1). PLFAD1 names close to 150 PLFAs and related compounds and can be used for fatty acid analysis from any source. MIDI Inc.'s Sherlock PLFA Analysis Software automatically names all the PLFAs in a sample and categorizes them by microbial origin (e.g. Actinomycetes) and can perform biomass calculations (e.g. Fungi:Bacteria). For further system and application information, please click here:
