A total of approximately
750 g of the composite soil sample were carefully mixed and stored
at 8 Ce10 C during transportation. Approx. 50 g of each crude
batch were sieved (grid size: 2 mm) and used for DNA extraction
and cultivation of soil bacteria. Samples were processed within 1e2
days at the collection center (AGES, Spargelfeldstrasse 191, 1220
Vienna).