Predation by protists shifts bacterial metabolic interaction from competition to cooperation
To experimentally validate the impact of protists on metabolic interactions between bacteria, we utilized a synthetic microbial community (SynCom) composed of six strains representative of bacteria commonly found in the rhizosphere soils. Different soil protists were introduced into SynCom cultures. Bacterial functional responses to protist predation were analyzed through metatranscriptomic analysis. Microbial cultures were harvested after DNA extraction in 48 hours and 96 hours.