The Bacterial Diversity Investigation in Oil Palm Plantation using Terminal Restriction Length Polymorphism

Oil palms ((Elaeis guineensis Jacq.), have been widely cultivated in Sumatera for over two planting generations and occupied lands with various soil characteristics. In order to investigate microbial diversity in various soil characteristics of oil palm plantation, a molecular analysis called Terminal Restriction Length Polymorphism (T-RFLP) was adopted. The aim of this research was to analyze the bacterial diversity within several oil palm plantations in Sumatera. DNA extraction was performed using soil DNA extraction kit and analysis was performed using fragment analysis following T-RFLP techniques. Data analysis was performed using MICA III public database. The result showed that soil samples were grouped into two clusters based on their chemical properties. Both HhaI and HinfI digestions affected the number of culturable bacteria dominancy. HhaI was more suitable for revealing a possible culturable genera and species abundance. Dominant genera were detected in each cluster. Cluster-2, which consisted of peat soils, was dominated by Clostridium, Burkholderia, Catenibacterium and Pasteuria. As the diversity of microbes reveals soil fertility, the result showed that metagenomic approach could be used to predict soil fertility indicator, in order to improve agricultural practices for oil palm cultivation.