Enrichment of Ciliates and Flagellates

Ciliates and flagellates are the group of protozoans, found abundant in agricultural and forest soil, as well as in freshwater, coastal, and marine water sediments. They play an important role as bacterial consumers and as fungi consumers to some extent leading to organic soil nitrogen mineralization which was then taken by the plants. This bacterial consumption by ciliates and flagellates enhances the nutrient cycles and the energy flow to the plants, animals, and microorganisms as well and, therefore, is considered as effective bioindicators of soil quality. Ciliates and flagellates also play an essential role in sustainable agricultural development as they can interact with native bacteria and produce negative effect on plant diseases by stimulating antibiotic and secondary metabolite production through enhancing the growth of plant growth-promoting bacterial species. Therefore, to recover the species diversity of ciliates and flagellates, cultivation media plays a key role, where hay infusion, proteose peptone (PP), skim milk-based media, chemically defined media (CDM), and alfalfa enrichment medium are generally preferred.