Relic DNA is abundant in soil and obscures estimates of soil microbial diversity
Paul Carini, Patrick J Marsden, Jonathan W Leff, Emily E Morgan, Michael S Strickland, Noah Fierer
The paper finds that relic DNA from dead microbial cells makes up 40% of soil DNA and inflates diversity estimates by up to 55%.
bioRxiv · Mar 17, 2016Ecology