Effect of protozoa on bacterial degradation of an aromatic compound.

Prototrophic and growth factor-requiring strains of Alcaligenes spp. were used to study the effect of a protozoan, Tetrahymena pyriformis, on the degradation of p-aminobenzoate. The protozoan inhibited activity of the prototrophic bacterium by reducing its population size. For the growth factor-requiring strain of Alcaligenes, T. pyriformis provided the required growth factors so that the predator permitted the bacteria to grow and to continue p-aminobenzoate degradation. T. pyriformis inhibited bacterial activity when the amino acid supply was in excess, but activity of the auxotrophic strain of Alcaligenes was stimulated by the protozoan when the amino acid supply was limiting, although the bacterial population size was reduced by the protozoan.