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The Interaction of Protozoa with their Potential Prey Bacteria in the Rhizosphere
Author(s) -
JJEMBA PATRICK K.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of eukaryotic microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.067
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1550-7408
pISSN - 1066-5234
DOI - 10.1111/j.1550-7408.2001.tb00320.x
Subject(s) - rhizosphere , biology , protozoa , bacteria , colonization , predation , microfauna , ecology , botany , fauna , genetics
. Extensive colonization of the rhizosphere by beneficial bacteria is desirable but it is not yet clear whether the feeding patterns of protozoa exert any ecological impact on the competence of bacteria in the rhizosphere. To determine whether the successful colonization of the rhizosphere by bacteria can be explained by inherent abilities of the bacteria to resist predation, six bacteria categorized as poor, mediocre or good rhizosphere colonists were tested. The populations of protozoa in the rhizosphere consistently increased to a maximum density in two days but then declined to a stable level. Grazing by protozoa increased the doubling time of all of the test bacteria but did not significantly affect the final densities of bacteria in the rhizosphere. The differences in the colonization ability of the six bacteria tested were not attributable to inherent differences in their susceptibility to predation by protozoa.