MICROBIAL ECOLOGY AND

PLANT GROWTH

SES-517 3(3-0)

Dr. Muhammad Naveed

Assistant Professor

Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences

University of Agriculture, Faisalabad
Classification of soil microorganisms (MO)
based on growth characteristics

• The idea that soil MO can be classified on the basis of their

growth characteristics, nutritional versatility, and affinity for
substrate has surfaced in various forms and at various
times throughout the twentieth century

• Zymogenous & Autochthonous

• For example, soil MO that grow rapidly when high energy-

containing nutrients are readily available are zymogenous

• Organisms that colonize the more recalcitrant material

remaining after a primary attack has subsided as
autochthonous microflora
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• Another attempt to group soil bacteria based upon
growth characteristics arose from the work of
researchers in Japan

• Oligotrophs & Copiotrophs

• They isolated soil bacteria, referred to as oligotrophs,

that grow much better at low concentrations of
substrates than at high concentrations

• These organisms' contrast with more typical isolates of

soil bacteria that grow better at relatively high
concentrations of nutrients, such as those provided in
most standard laboratory growth media; these bacteria
are often referred to as copiotrophs
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• In contrast to the ambiguity with soil bacteria,

researchers have consistently described a
successional colonization of different soil fungal types
on plant & animal residues

• As decomposition proceeds, the succession moves

toward organisms with the ability to metabolize
residual substrates of increasing chemical complexity
& recalcitrance

• In addition, fungi that colonize the residues during the

later stages of decomposition tend to be slow growing
& less competitive at growth on simpler nutrients than
the primary fungal colonizers
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• Latter colonists also tend to produce fewer & more

durable spores than the fungi that initiate primary
colonization

• Microbial classification based on growth properties may

be linked with the r-K theory of colonization & succession

• Briefly, a species needs to adopt a different strategy to

colonize an environment in which it is initially present at
low density (r-strategy) than to persist in an environment
in which it is already present near to its carrying capacity
(K-strategy)
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• r& K-strategy OR r/K selection theory

• The r-strategy species place a large percentage of their

available energy into reproduction & attempt to occupy the
niche as quickly as possible

– Species specializing in this behaviour are considered to be poorly

adapted in dealing with environmental stress & periods of low
nutrient availability

– As a consequence, populations of r-strategists are thought to

undergo large fluctuations over time

– Many soil bacteria, particularly those exhibiting zymogenous or

copiotrophic traits, probably belong to the r-strategist category
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• In the case of K-strategists, growth rate & reproduction

are finely tuned to the limited resources available, &
these species are adept at dealing with periods of
starvation & stress

• Many fungal & actinomycete species are considered to

be K-strategists because they possess slower growth
rates, produce long-lived spores & other survival
structures, & metabolize complex nutrients such as
lignin & humus
Interactions between soil organisms
• Given the constraints that soil places on its biota in
terms of nutritional limitations & environmental stresses,
it is not surprising that many soil organisms interact with
each other to avoid some of these difficulties

• Scientists have attempted to define these interactions on

the basis of whether one or both organisms gain benefit
from the association & if there is any specificity in the
association (Table)

• However, these interactions cannot be rigidly defined

 Kinds of Interactions

There are three kinds of interactions:

1. Neutral
i. Neutralism
2. Positive
i. Commensalism
ii. Synergism
iii. Mutualism
3. Negative
i. Predation
ii. Competition
iii. Amensalism
iv. Parasitism
 Kinds of interactions… continue

❖ Neutralism
There is no any physiological effect between the
populations. Both the partners are independent & not
affected by each other

❖ Commensalism

Commensalism is a unidirectional relationship between

populations in which one population benefits & the other one
is unaffected
 Kinds of interactions… continue

❖ Synergism
Synergism indicates that both populations benefit from
the relationship, but the association is not obligatory.
Both populations are capable of surviving independently
 Kinds of interactions… continue

❖ Mutualism/Symbiosis
Mutualism is an obligatory inter-relationship between two
populations that benefits both of them
 Kinds of interactions… continue

❖ Amensalism
It is an asymmetric interaction where one species is harmed
or killed by the other, & one is unaffected by the other

There are two types of amensalism: (1) Competition & (2)

Antagonism (or antibiosis)
 Kinds of interactions… continue

❖ Competition
Competition occurs when two populations are striving for the
same resource of nutrients or the habitat

One outcompetes the other for the nutrients or site resources

 Kinds of interactions… continue

❖ Antagonism
Antagonism occurs when one population produces a substrate
inhibitory to another population
 Kinds of interactions… continue

❖ Parasitism
The parasite population is benefited & the host population
is harmed
 Kinds of interactions… continue

❖ Predation

Predation is a widespread phenomenon where the predator

engulfs or attacks the prey
The prey can be larger or smaller than the predator, & this
normally results in the death of the prey
 Summary of population interactions

Table 1: Effects of Interactions

NAME OF POPULATION POPULATION
INTERACTION A B
Neutralism 0 0
Commensalism 0 +
Synergism + +
Mutualism/Symbiosis + +
Competition - -
Amensalism 0 or + -
Parasitism + -
Predation + -

0: No effect; +: positive effect; -: negative effect.