Mycelium-Like Networks Increase Bacterial Dispersal, Growth, and Biodegradation in a Model Ecosystem at Various Water Potentials.

ABSTRACT: Fungal mycelia serve as effective dispersal networks for bacteria in water-unsaturated environments, thereby allowing bacteria to maintain important functions, such as biodegradation. However, poor knowledge exists on the effects of dispersal networks at various osmotic (Ψo) and matric (Ψm) potentials, which contribute to the water potential mainly in terrestrial soil environments. Here we studied the effects of artificial mycelium-like dispersal networks on bacterial dispersal dynamics and subsequent effects on growth and benzoate biodegradation at ΔΨo and ΔΨm values between 0 and -1.5 MPa. In a multiple-microcosm approach, we used a green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged derivative of the soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida KT2440 as a model organism and sodium benzoate as a representative

SUBMITTER: Worrich A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4959060 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature