Predatory Protists: The Key Players in the Quest for Sustainable Agricultural Practices

Abstract

To overcome the global problem of food shortage while supporting sustainable life on Earth, we must appreciate the critical importance of soil microorganisms—the key drivers of essential ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling and plant productivity. Protists are one of the major microbial groups in soil ecosystem including primary producers, decomposers, predators, and symbionts. The diverse morphologies and feeding strategies of predatory protists, including amoebae, ciliates, and flagellates, contribute to their versatility in capturing prey. Particularly, trophic interactions between protists and bacteria play a crucial role in regulating bacterial communities in the soil. Protists selectively prey on bacteria, influencing community composition, and enhancing microbial activity. The impact extends to nutrient cycling, secondary metabolite production, and even antibiotic resistance in soil bacterial communities. Despite recent advances, the field of applied protistology remains underexplored, necessitating further research to bridge the gap between theoretical potential and practical application. We call for increased scientific attention, research efforts, and practical implementations to fully harness the benefits of soil protistology for future agricultural practices. In this article, we introduced the frequently overlooked essential roles of predatory protists in soil ecosystem and their potential usage in sustainable agriculture.