This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Rodriguez-Zaragoza, S.
Right arrow Articles by Steinberger, Y.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Rodriguez-Zaragoza, S.
Right arrow Articles by Steinberger, Y.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Rodriguez-Zaragoza, S.
Right arrow Articles by Steinberger, Y.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2005, p. 2053-2060, Vol. 71, No. 4
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.4.2053-2060.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Vertical Distribution of the Free-Living Amoeba Population in Soil under Desert Shrubs in the Negev Desert, Israel

Salvador Rodriguez-Zaragoza,1,2 Einav Mayzlish,1* and Yosef Steinberger1

Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel,1 Laboratorio de Microbiología, Unidad de Biología Tecnología y Prototipos, Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, UNAM, Los Reyes Iztacala, Tlalnepantla, Estado de México, México2

Received 26 March 2004/ Accepted 15 November 2004

A field study was designed to examine the effect of desert shrubs on the dynamics of free-living amoebae in arid soil. Soil samples from 0- to 50-cm depths were collected at 10-cm intervals in each of the four seasons. The vertical distributions of the four main morphological types of amoebae, grouped according to their mobility, and of small flagellate populations were measured under the canopies of Hammada scoparia and Atriplex halimus, shrubs belonging to the chloride-absorbing xerohalophytes. The result obtained from the field study demonstrated that the total number of protozoa was significantly higher during the wet seasons (winter and spring) than during the dry seasons. The protozoan population was more diverse under the canopy of H. scoparia during the wet seasons, reaching 8,000 individuals per 1 g of dry soil, whereas during the dry seasons, the populations were higher under the canopy of A. halimus, with a mean of 250 individuals. The protozoan population in the deeper layers (40 to 50 cm) was found to be as active as that in the upper layers, demonstrating that, in the desert, soil columns below 20 cm are fertile and worth studying. The type 1 amoebae (e.g., Acanthamoeba and Filamoeba spp.) were the most abundant throughout the study period, and their numbers were significantly higher than those of the other amoeba types.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel. Phone: 972-3-5318571. Fax: 972-3-5351824. E-mail: ls566{at}mail.biu.ac.il.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2005, p. 2053-2060, Vol. 71, No. 4
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.4.2053-2060.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Mura, M., Bull, T. J., Evans, H., Sidi-Boumedine, K., McMinn, L., Rhodes, G., Pickup, R., Hermon-Taylor, J. (2006). Replication and Long-Term Persistence of Bovine and Human Strains of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis within Acanthamoeba polyphaga. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 854-859 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»