Green, S.J., Fac. Agric., Food Environ. Qual. S., Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel, Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization, Inst. Soil, Water and Environ. Sci., P.O. Box 6, Bet-Dagan 50-250, Israel
Michel Jr., F.C., Dept. Food, Agric., and Biol. Eng., Ohio State University, Ohio Agric. R. and D. Center, Wooster, OH, United States
Hadar, Y., Fac. Agric., Food Environ. Qual. S., Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel
Minz, D., Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization, Inst. Soil, Water and Environ. Sci., P.O. Box 6, Bet-Dagan 50-250, Israel

We analyzed bacterial communities in two cow manure composts derived from the same feed manure and composted in the same location, but composted with different carbon amendments, and in peat-based potting mixes amended with these composts. Bacterial communities were characterized by PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of extracted DNAs, and population fingerprints generated for each sample were compared. Sequence analyses of dominant DGGE bands revealed that members of the phylum Bacteroidetes were the most dominant bacteria detected in this study (19 of 31 clones). These analyses demonstrate that bacterial community profiles of individual composts were highly similar, as were profiles of compost-amended potting mixes. However, potting mix profiles differed substantially from the original compost profiles and from that of the peat base. These data indicate that highly similar bacterial populations were active in the two composts, and suggest that the effects of the initial carbon amendment on the mature compost bacterial communities were minor, while factors such as the feed manure and composting location may have been more influential. © 2004 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.