Predatory Protists: The Key Players in the Quest for Sustainable Agricultural Practices

To overcome the global problem of food shortage while supporting sustainable life on Earth, we must appreciate the critical importance of soil microorganisms—the key drivers of essential ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling and plant productivity. Protists are one of the major microbial group...

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Main Authors: Seda Ozer Bodur, Mayu Fujino, Rasit Asiloglu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Ankara University 2024-07-01
Series:Journal of Agricultural Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/3775751
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author Seda Ozer Bodur
Mayu Fujino
Rasit Asiloglu
author_facet Seda Ozer Bodur
Mayu Fujino
Rasit Asiloglu
author_sort Seda Ozer Bodur
collection DOAJ
description To overcome the global problem of food shortage while supporting sustainable life on Earth, we must appreciate the critical importance of soil microorganisms—the key drivers of essential ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling and plant productivity. Protists are one of the major microbial groups in soil ecosystem including primary producers, decomposers, predators, and symbionts. The diverse morphologies and feeding strategies of predatory protists, including amoebae, ciliates, and flagellates, contribute to their versatility in capturing prey. Particularly, trophic interactions between protists and bacteria play a crucial role in regulating bacterial communities in the soil. Protists selectively prey on bacteria, influencing community composition, and enhancing microbial activity. The impact extends to nutrient cycling, secondary metabolite production, and even antibiotic resistance in soil bacterial communities. Despite recent advances, the field of applied protistology remains underexplored, necessitating further research to bridge the gap between theoretical potential and practical application. We call for increased scientific attention, research efforts, and practical implementations to fully harness the benefits of soil protistology for future agricultural practices. In this article, we introduced the frequently overlooked essential roles of predatory protists in soil ecosystem and their potential usage in sustainable agriculture.
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publishDate 2024-07-01
publisher Ankara University
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spelling doaj-art-a2b365fc0499481780d7fe8aca2b4ca22025-08-20T02:00:43ZengAnkara UniversityJournal of Agricultural Sciences1300-75802024-07-0130343644310.15832/ankutbd.144782245Predatory Protists: The Key Players in the Quest for Sustainable Agricultural PracticesSeda Ozer Bodur0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3879-4024Mayu Fujino1https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8836-4138Rasit Asiloglu2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5318-9511Niigata UniversityNiigata UniversityNiigata UniversityTo overcome the global problem of food shortage while supporting sustainable life on Earth, we must appreciate the critical importance of soil microorganisms—the key drivers of essential ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling and plant productivity. Protists are one of the major microbial groups in soil ecosystem including primary producers, decomposers, predators, and symbionts. The diverse morphologies and feeding strategies of predatory protists, including amoebae, ciliates, and flagellates, contribute to their versatility in capturing prey. Particularly, trophic interactions between protists and bacteria play a crucial role in regulating bacterial communities in the soil. Protists selectively prey on bacteria, influencing community composition, and enhancing microbial activity. The impact extends to nutrient cycling, secondary metabolite production, and even antibiotic resistance in soil bacterial communities. Despite recent advances, the field of applied protistology remains underexplored, necessitating further research to bridge the gap between theoretical potential and practical application. We call for increased scientific attention, research efforts, and practical implementations to fully harness the benefits of soil protistology for future agricultural practices. In this article, we introduced the frequently overlooked essential roles of predatory protists in soil ecosystem and their potential usage in sustainable agriculture.https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/3775751predatory protistsoil protistssustainable agriculturetrophic interactionsplant growthapplied protistology
spellingShingle Seda Ozer Bodur
Mayu Fujino
Rasit Asiloglu
Predatory Protists: The Key Players in the Quest for Sustainable Agricultural Practices
Journal of Agricultural Sciences
predatory protist
soil protists
sustainable agriculture
trophic interactions
plant growth
applied protistology
title Predatory Protists: The Key Players in the Quest for Sustainable Agricultural Practices
title_full Predatory Protists: The Key Players in the Quest for Sustainable Agricultural Practices
title_fullStr Predatory Protists: The Key Players in the Quest for Sustainable Agricultural Practices
title_full_unstemmed Predatory Protists: The Key Players in the Quest for Sustainable Agricultural Practices
title_short Predatory Protists: The Key Players in the Quest for Sustainable Agricultural Practices
title_sort predatory protists the key players in the quest for sustainable agricultural practices
topic predatory protist
soil protists
sustainable agriculture
trophic interactions
plant growth
applied protistology
url https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/3775751
work_keys_str_mv AT sedaozerbodur predatoryprotiststhekeyplayersinthequestforsustainableagriculturalpractices
AT mayufujino predatoryprotiststhekeyplayersinthequestforsustainableagriculturalpractices
AT rasitasiloglu predatoryprotiststhekeyplayersinthequestforsustainableagriculturalpractices