Microbial Ecology

Microorganism Interactions
&
Microbial Ecology
Outline
• Microorganism Interactions
• Microorganisms in Aquatic environments
• Microorganisms in Terrestrial Environments
Types of Microbial Interactions
• Interactions may be beneficial to

both organisms, beneficial to just
one, or harmful to one.
• Ectosymbiosis – one organism on

the surface of another
• Endosymbiosis – one organism
inside another
Mutualism
• Examples :
• Obligatory relationship, The host – Lichen
are metabolically dependent on
– Rhizobium bacteria fix N2, provide
each other to legume host that provide
energy source
• Reciprocal benefit for both – Buchnera aphidicola in aphid’s
partners cytoplasm, provides amino acid
Triptophan. Aphid provides
nutrient & habitat
– Rumen microorganisms
(celluloslytic anaerobic
procaryotes, fungi) break down
plant materials to fatty acids,
CO2, H2. Archaea (methanogens)
produce methane (CH4) from
acetate, CO2 and H2
Synergism / Protocooperation
• The relationship is not obligatory

• Mutually beneficial
• Example : association between
Azotobacter & Cellulomonas.
Azotobacter uses glucose
provided by Cellulomonas, a
cellulose degrading
microorganism, which uses the
nitrogen fixed by Azotobacter
Synergism / Protocooperation
• Pompeii worm (Alvinella pompejana)

extremophile found only
at hydrothermal vents in the Pacific
Ocean protected by sulfur-oxidizing
bacteria Nautilia profundicola, a
thermophilic, strictly anaerobic, sulfur-
reducing epsilonproteobacterium, grow
on its surface, gives some degree of
insulation. The bacteria reduce sulfur &
use bacteria mucus as a nutrient
source.
N. nitratireducens
Commensalism
• The relationship in which one • Examples :

symbiont has benefits & the • Nitrosomonas produces
other is neither harmed not Nitrite for Nitrobacter
helped.
• E.coli depletes O2 in upper

large intestine, allows
obligate anaerobes (i.e
Bacteroides) to grow in lower
colon
Parasitism
• Predators kill their prey • Bdellovibrio penetrates cell wall
& multiplies between the wall &
plasma membrane (periplasmic
mode of attack) → consume
the biopolymers, e.g. proteins
and nucleic acids of their hosts,
lysis the cell host & release of
progeny
• Vampirococcus. Attach to prey’s
surface (epibiotic relationship) &
secretes enzymes to release the
cell contents
• Daptobacter → non lytic,
penetrates host & uses
cytoplasmic content as nutrient
source
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIis-XSYmY8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv4k3iUHB48
Amensalism / Antagonism
• 1 organism has negative effect on

another organism. Example:
Penicillin killing bacteria
Competition
• Different organisms within a population try to acquire the same source

Microbes
are
everywhere
Microorganisms in Nature
Distribution of microorganisms In:

• Soil
• Water
• Air
• Food
• With plants and animals
Terrestrial Environments
1. The distribution of microorganisms in nature ecosystem depends on

the resources (nutrients) available and on the growth conditions.
2. Temperature, pH, water availability, light, oxygen of a habitat define the

niche for each particular microorganism.
Proportion of different soil microorganisms in soil
Main types of soil microorganisms
Agrobacterium Alcaligenes
Arthrobacter Bacillus
Caulobacter Cellulomonas
Clostridium Corynebacterium
Flavobacterium Micrococcus
Mycobacterium Pseudomonas
Staphylcoccus
Microbial populations in the rhizosphere may benefit the
plant by:
(1) removing hydrogen sulfide, which is toxic to the plant roots

(2) increasing solubilization of mineral nutrients needed by the plant for
growth
(3) synthesizing vitamins, amino acids, auxins, gibberellins that
stimulate plant growth
(4) antagonizing potential plant pathogens through competition and the
production of antibiotics
Microbes in Human & animals body
• Probiotics : living microorganisms or substances to promote health and

growth, has the potential to reestablish the natural balance and return
the host to normal health and nutrition.
• Prebiotics : selectively ingredients → increase the number &/or activity of

bacteria in the digestive system → bifidobacteria & lactic acid bacteria
• Synbiotic : the combination of prebiotics and probiotic microorganisms.
How Probiotic microorganisms displace
pathogen
1. Competition with pathogens for nutrients and adhesion sites
2. Inactivation of pathogenic bacterial toxins or metabolites
3. Production of substance that inhibit pathogen growth
Microbes in Plants
1. Endophytes
2. Lichens and Mycorrhizas
3. Root nodule bacteria and symbiosis with legumes
Endophytes
• Bacteria & fungus

• Grow in plant’s cortex cells
• Parasitic / Mutualistic → example : mycorrhizae (root fungus), symbiotic
association between plant roots and fungi
Mycorrhizae
• Endomycorrhizae : the fungus

penetrates the plant cells &
forms characteristic structures
such as arbuscules & coils
• Ectomycorrhizae : the fungus

hyphae forming a sheath
covering the root tip & root
cortex → hartig net
• Ectendomycorrhizae :
ectomycorrhizae, however the
hyphae may also penentrate the
plant cells
Freshwater Environments
• Typical freshwater environments are the lakes, ponds, rivers.
• Aquatic environments differ in chemical and physical properties →
microbial species compositions also differ.
• nutrient levels – oligotrophic (nutrient poor) vs. eutrophic (nutrient rich)
eutrophic – stratified (aerobic at top) eutrophication (nutrient
enrichment)
rivers – nutrient influx dramatic, organisms in biofilms and mats
• water quality :
– measures: biologically usable carbon : BOD (biochemical oxygen
demand) and chemically oxidizable carbon : COD (Chemical oxygen
demand)
• Most probable number (MPN) → coliform contamination
Eutrophication
• Eutrophication is the accumulation of organic compounds (natural

fertilizers or pesticides) in waters.
• The accumulation of these organic compounds causes algae blooms on

the surface of the water. This blocks the entry of sunlight into the water.
Therefore, aquatic plants do not photosynthesize so that oxygen in the
water decreases.
• Excess of nutrients → accelerates
growth of plankton
• Phytoplankton + zooplankton →
algal bloom (eutrophication)
• O2 decreases + waste + no
sunlight → intoxication of
inhabitants
• Many cyanobacteria species

produce toxins that are lethal to
birds and animals → cyanotoxins
Marine Environments
• Salty
• Highly variable subject to high & low tides, rainfall, environmental

contamination
• Inshore ocean areas are typically more nutritionally fertile and therefore
support more dense populations of phytoplankton
• Populations of several kinds of photosynthetic marine microbes may form

harmful blooms that affect other marine and maritime organisms directly
and indirectly.
Marine microbiology
• Marine eukaryotic microbes are primary producers, decomposers, and

consumers, and some contribute significantly to the accumulation of
deep-sea sediments.
• The ocean contains 100.000 – 10.000.000 bacteria per mL water
• Some marine organisms cause disease → prefer warm temperatures
• Marine bacteria survive in several places : free-floating, in digestive tracts

of shellfish (e.g. oysters) & finfish (true fish), attached to plankton, in
sediment, symbiont with other marine’s organisms
Marine Viruses
• Have significance for marine food webs, population biology and diseases of
marine organisms
• Viruses kill host cells, and thus control populations of bacteria and other
microbes in plankton communities
• Viruses also responsible for chronic infection and mass mortality of
populations of marine animals
• Bacterial lysis can alter biogeochemical cycles and planktonic food webs
• Viral populations are probably controlled by several biotic and abiotic
factors
– e.g. ingestion by microbes, failure to attach to appropriate host cell
Marine bacteria
• Vibrio is a major cause of waterborne disease → Vibrio cholerae, V.

parahaemolyticus, V. vulfinicus, V. anguillarum
• Others : Salmonella typhi, E. coli, P. aeruginosa
• Infectious dose for V. parahaemolyticus : 100.000 bacteria per gram of
oyster meat.
• ID for V. cholerae : 1.000.000
• ID for V. vulfinicus : 100
• V. anguillarum pathogen to finfish except salmon
Marine fungi
• Ascomycetes & Basidiomycetes

• Littoraria irrorata damage plants
spartina → enable fungal to
colonize the plant
Microbes in air
• Atmosphere (The layer nearest to the earth) contains all major groups of
microbes ranging from algae to the viruses.
• There are vegetative cells and spores of bacteria, fungi and algae, viruses
and protozoan cysts.
• Environmental factors that affect air microflora include atmospheric

temperature, humidity(Low and high relative humidity cause the death of
most microorganisms), air current.
• Air current is also important in the dispersal of microorganisms as it

carries them over a long distance. In still air the particles with
microorganisms tend to settle down. But a gentle air can keep them in
suspension for long periods
• Air is not a natural environment for microorganisms as it doesn't contain
enough moisture and nutrients to support their growth and reproduction.
• One of the most common sources of air microflora is the soil.
• microorganisms found in water may also be released into the air in the
form of water droplets
• from plant or animal surfaces
• The main soures of airborne microorganism is human beings by activities

like coughing, sneezing, talking and laughing
Airborne Microbes and their Reservoirs
Viruses:
• Mostly humans but some animals
• Some rodent viruses are significant: ex: Lassa Fever Virus and Hantavirus.
Bacteria:
• Humans (TB & staphylococci),
• other animals (brucella and anthrax),
• water (Legionella)
• soil (clostridia).
Fungi:
• soil and birds (Cryptococcus and Histoplasma)
• dead plant material
• wet surfaces (wood and other building materials)
• indoor air (mycotic air pollution)
• stagnant water for the opportunistic fungi (e.g., Aspergillus sp.).
BIOFILM
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f
pPWbdK9Dno
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQMeA39fWjY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpPWbdK9Dno

Microbial Ecology

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Microorganism Interactions

• Interactions may be beneficial to

• Ectosymbiosis – one organism on

• The relationship is not obligatory

• Pompeii worm (Alvinella pompejana)

• The relationship in which one • Examples :

• E.coli depletes O2 in upper

• 1 organism has negative effect on

• Different organisms within a population try to acquire the same source

Distribution of microorganisms In:

1. The distribution of microorganisms in nature ecosystem depends on

2. Temperature, pH, water availability, light, oxygen of a habitat define the

(1) removing hydrogen sulfide, which is toxic to the plant roots

• Probiotics : living microorganisms or substances to promote health and

• Prebiotics : selectively ingredients → increase the number &/or activity of

• Bacteria & fungus

• Endomycorrhizae : the fungus

• Ectomycorrhizae : the fungus

• Eutrophication is the accumulation of organic compounds (natural

• The accumulation of these organic compounds causes algae blooms on

• Many cyanobacteria species

• Highly variable subject to high & low tides, rainfall, environmental

• Populations of several kinds of photosynthetic marine microbes may form

• Marine eukaryotic microbes are primary producers, decomposers, and

• The ocean contains 100.000 – 10.000.000 bacteria per mL water

• Some marine organisms cause disease → prefer warm temperatures

• Marine bacteria survive in several places : free-floating, in digestive tracts

• Vibrio is a major cause of waterborne disease → Vibrio cholerae, V.

• Ascomycetes & Basidiomycetes

• Environmental factors that affect air microflora include atmospheric

• Air current is also important in the dispersal of microorganisms as it

• One of the most common sources of air microflora is the soil.

• from plant or animal surfaces

• The main soures of airborne microorganism is human beings by activities

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