MICR 2420 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Ajila, Microbial Ecology, Microbiology

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Microbiology
• Course: MICR 2420
• Professor: Lucy Mutharia

Document Summary

Complex mixture decaying organic and mineral matter. Life support numbers of microbes, as well as terrestrial plants for vast. Humus is the remaining phenolic material left after primary degradation of lignin. Streptomyces: a major genus of soil bacteria, notable for the diversity of antibiotics they make. Nematodes microscopic worms that reside in the top 15cm of the soil. Depicted a nematode containing the fluorescent bacterium photorhabdus luminescens; if an insect eats the nematode, the bacteria is passed to the insect, which it kills, creating biomass in the soil for other nematodes to enjoy! Soil: one of the most diverse ecosystems on earth! Specialist fungal species (do not have sexual cycles and are completely dependent on their plant host) One specialist endophytic relationship is that of plant roots and rhizobia, a group of specialized bacteria. Forms an elaborate partnership whereby the bacterial cells adapt to life within nodules to form a nitrogen fixing.