Microscale diversity of the genus Nitrobacter in soil on the basis of analysis of genes encoding rRNA

We looked at the diversity of NO2- oxidizers at field scale by examining isolates at clump scale and in microsamples of soil (diameter, 50 mu m). The genetic distances (as determined by amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis performed with Nitrobacter-specific primers) in a small clump of soil were as large as those between reference strains from large geographical areas. Diversity in individual microsamples was shown by serotyping.