Phospholipid fatty acids(PLFA)are the major constituents of membrance in all living cells.A variety of PLFAs can be synthesized
by different groups of microorganism through various biochemical pathways.Several PLFA can be used as signatures to analyze changes in microbial biomass and microbial communities structure.In this paper,the phsopholipid fatty acid method was used to analyze microbial community change in compost.Principal components analysis of the PLFA data showed that with the increasing of compost temperature,there was a quick increase in the concentration of thermophil(i14:0,i15:0,i16:0,i17:0,a17:0, 10 Me18:0,10 Me16:0,10 Me17:0),while the biomass of mesophilic bacteria decreased gradually.At the manure stage of compost,the bacteria(i15:0,a15:0,i16:0,16:1w7c,16:1w5c,16:0) and actinomyces(10 Me16:0,10 Me17:0 and 10 Me18:0),which can use cellulose and lignine,increased a lot.Part
saturated,polyunsaturated,monounsaturated dominated at the start of
composting and branched saturated,branched unsaturated,10 Me branched dominated at the end of composting.Most branched saturated increased during the hottest stage of compost.According to these changes,PLFA:10 Me16:0,10 Me18:0 can be used as signatures to estimate manure of compost.