Structuring the Rhizosphere: Using Protozoa to Sow Bacteria

Leslie Shor and Daniel Gage of the University of Connecticut in the U.S. seek to demonstrate that protozoa can be used to spatially disseminate beneficial bacteria throughout the rhizosphere, which is the zone of soil around the plant roots. Native, encysted protists deployed in seed coatings could improve crop yields in smallholder farms by delivering viable biocontrol bacteria to growing root tips.