Guardians of plant health: roles of predatory protists in the pathogen suppression

Biological control (biocontrol) organisms are the key component of the sustainable agriculture. Although the majority of the research on biocontrol organisms focused on fungi and bacteria, recent studies revealed the importance of predatory protists in pathogen suppression through direct (by feeding on plant pathogens) and indirect (by enhancing bacterial activities related to pathogen suppression) mechanisms. However, a review of the literature related to predatory protists and plant pathogen interaction is still lacking.

In this review, we aimed to 1) provide the current body of knowledge on the roles of predatory protists in plant pathogen suppression, and 2) highlight the importance of predatory protists as potential biocontrol agents. We also provided information on isolation techniques and application methods of predatory protists that can be used as biocontrol agents in agricultural systems.

We highlighted that predatory protists can be an important solution for the sustainable management of plant pathogens. Since there is a huge knowledge gap in this area, further studies should focus on protist-pathogen interaction and its application for sustainable plant productivity.