Fig. 2. Distribution of lipids among different soils. NLFA and PLFA are calculated as proportions of ELFA by soil and sample type.
andELFAwerepositivelyandsignificantlycorrelatedtoeachother inbothrhizospheresoilandrootsinbothexperiments,whilePLFA was positively and significantly correlated to NLFA and ELFA in roots but not in rhizosphere soil (data not shown). Large differences were observed in the distribution of the biomarkerfattyacid16:15cisbetweenthevariouslipidfractions in soil and roots (Fig. 2). In soil, PLFA plus NLFA were approximately one-half of the total ester-linked fatty acids ELFA, while in rootsNLFAplusPLFAwereapproximately90%ofELFA.WhileNLFA was always much greater than PLFA, the ratio of NLFA to PLFA was higher in roots than in soil.