TABLE 4.
Summary of the groupings obtained using each techniquea
| Dilutionb | AODC | R2A count | % Culturability on R2A | Diversity on R2A platesc | SM count | Ratio of SM count to R2A countc | CLPP | Dilution-extinction analysis of CLPPc | AFLP | T-RFLP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | a | a | a | a | a | a | a | a | a | a |
| 10−1 | a | a | a | b | a | a | a | b | a | |
| 10−2 | a | a | a | b | a | a | a | b | b | a |
| 10−3 | a | a | ab | b | ab | a | ab | b | a | |
| 10−4 | ab | a | ab | b | ab | a | ab | b | b | ab |
| 10−5 | b | ab | b | b | ab | b | b | c | b | |
| 10−6 | c | b | c | b | b | b | c | c | c | b |
a
Different letters represent significantly different communities, determined as described in the text.
b
Dilution refers to the original dilution used as the inoculum for the regrown communities.
c
For these data, statistical analyses were not performed to assess significance levels; instead, the different grouping outlined here were determined by visual interpretation of Fig. 2 (diversity on R2A plates) and Fig. 4 (dilution-extinction analysis of CLPP). For the ratio of SM to R2A counts, different groups were defined as having a ratio greater than 1 (a) or less than 1 (b).