Genomics & Analytics
Even with meticulous planning, cutting-edge agricultural equipment, and ideal growing conditions, optimal crop yield is not a certainty. The reason lies beneath the surface: soil is a complex ecosystem teeming with millions of microorganisms. Some of these microscopic inhabitants are beneficial to your crops, while others can be detrimental.
Metagenomics soil testing provides an in-depth analysis of this hidden world, giving you critical insights before the growing season begins. Are there actions you need to take to mitigate the activity of urease, an enzyme that can rapidly deplete soil nitrogen by breaking down urea? Does your soil contain a healthy population of beneficial organisms like mycorrhizae, essential for nutrient uptake, or is there a need to introduce them during seeding? Furthermore, this advanced testing can reveal if your field is afflicted with harmful pathogens like Aphanomyces, which can devastate crops, or if it’s ideally suited for pulse cultivation. Uncover these vital details and more with a Metagenomic Soil Test from Trace Genomics, empowering you to make informed decisions for a successful harvest.
Soil is composed of organic and inorganic matter and has a structure more complex than what is visible by the naked eye. It contains pockets of gasses and liquids in between clumps (called aggregates) of different sizes (macro- or microaggregates). When plant roots, fungal hyphae, and subterranean animals move through the soil, they create spatial heterogeneity—tiny “islands” with unique physical and chemical characteristics.
The soil microbiome is composed of all the microscopic organisms (or microbes) living in soil, and these are impacted by the minuscule changes in the structure and chemical composition of the soil. With so much spatial heterogeneity in soil, how are scientists able to make conclusions about the biological capacity of an entire agricultural field? A teaspoon of soil contains around a billion microbial cells, but if you pick up another teaspoon, do you see the same microbes?
Who is Trace Genomics?
Trace Genomics is a pioneering name in the field of agriculture science. For over 8 years, they’ve made their mark in the USA market by offering unparalleled insights into soil health. Trace has successfully benchmarked over 58 million acres in the USA, equipping farmers with valuable data to make informed and strategic decisions for their crops. We’re thrilled to share that in Canada, Trace Genomics is represented by Taurus Ag.
What is metagenomics sequencing?
Metagenomics sequencing is a cutting-edge technique used to study the genetic material from environmental samples. Instead of focusing on individual organisms, metagenomics considers the entirety of microbial communities, offering a holistic view of the complex ecosystem within soils. This provides a comprehensive picture of what’s happening beneath the ground, from microbial activity to the presence of beneficial and harmful organisms.
How does Trace Genomics analyze the soil microbiome?
Trace Genomics’ expert team of soil microbiologists have established an easy-to-follow protocol for collecting agricultural soil samples that minimizes time, effort, and cost without compromising the scientific integrity of customer samples.
With TaurusCOMPLETE, Trace uses metagenomics (sequencing all the DNA in a sample) alongside their proprietary database and analytical pipeline to inform growers:
- What microbes are living in their soil
- What functional role do they have
Through the online portal, TraceVIEW, agronomists can see levels of pathogens in their fields as well as microbes important in nutrient cycling. To collect soil for sequencing, growers collect three separate samples from a field. Each sample will be a composite of 4-10 soil cores (depending on depth) collected either:
- From a radius around a central point
- In a zigzag pattern throughout a plot
How Is this different from other soil tests?
About the author: Dr. Tuesday Simmons is the Science Writer at Trace Genomics. She earned her Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of California, Berkeley, studying the root microbiome of cereal crops.
Trace Genomics provides actionable insights for soil management by analyzing soil biology with the most comprehensive sequencing technology available. Our TaurusCOMPLETE powered by Trace Genomics product includes reports on the levels of plant pathogens and microorganisms (microbes) that impact nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) levels. This provides a more complete picture of your soil health and, alongside soil chemistry, better recommendations for fertility product placement.
The Haney Test (also known as the Soil Health Tool and the Haney Soil Health Test) is also a measurement of soil health that includes recommendations for fertilizer applications as well as cover crops. The Haney Test focuses on overall soil microbial activity rather than the presence of individual species.
PLFA stands for phospholipid fatty acid—this is a component of the cell membrane of microorganisms. Different microbes contain different PLFAs, so measuring these molecules in a soil sample can provide quantitative information about the types of microbes present. This analysis is unable to identify individual species of microbes, but can still provide some information about soil health as a measurement of soil biomass and diversity.
The table below describes the differences between Trace Genomics biological analysis, calculations from the Haney Test, and PLFA analysis.
Trace Genomics vs. Haney Test vs. PLFA
| Trace Genomics—Metagenomics | Haney Test | PLFA |
|---|---|---|
| Measures soil microbial biomass with DNA | Calculates microbial biomass with a measurement of activity (CO2 burst test) | Measures soil biomass using phospholipid fatty acids (present in microbial cell membranes) |
| Able to identify microbial species (high resolution) | Does not identify specific microbes | Identifies groups of microbes, but not enough resolution to identify species (low resolution) |
| Directly quantifies abundance of microbes capable of cycling N/P | Estimates soil nutrients (N/P) that are available to microbes | No information on soil nutrients |
| Provides recommendations for type of fertility product | Provides quantitative fertilizer recommendations | No fertilizer product recommendations |
| Does not provide cover crop suggestions | Provides cover crop suggestions | No cover crop suggestions |
| Includes pathogen data | No information on pathogens | No information on pathogens |
| Results are not impacted by soil structure | Results are impacted by soil structure | Results are not impacted by soil structure |
| Robust over different soil types and environments | Results are impacted by different soil types and environments | Robust over different soil types and environments |
| Uses smart benchmarks to provide context, so results from any location can be interpreted | Tests need calibration for each state | Results can vary by measurement method, so need to stick with the same lab to compare results over time |
| Future changes in protocol can be retroactively applied to past data for a more direct comparison of soil health measurements over time | Future changes in protocol cannot be applied to past samples | Future changes in protocol cannot be applied to past samples |
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