The respiration rates per unit of microbial biomass (qCO2) of live cells were evaluated in inorganic medium using glass beads to which glucose was added at a rate of 50 µg C vial −1 day −1 . The qCO2 of live cells (g CO2-C (g biomass-C) −1 day −1 ) was 0.23 in a pure culture of bacteria, 0.67 in a mixed culture of bacteria and protozoa, 0.16 in a mixed culture of bacteria and fungi, and 0.20 in a mixed culture of bacteria, protozoa and fungi. A culture system containing glass beads is a useful tool to estimate qCO2 of live cells.Key words: microbial food chain, cell-specific respiration, carbon balance, grazing, microcosmThe rate of CO 2 evolution per unit of microbial biomass (metabolic quotient, qCO2) in soil is an indispensable factor for the evaluation of microbial activity 7,29) , the maintenance requirement of microorganisms 2) , or turnover rate of microbial biomass 19) . The structure of the microbial food chain system may be one of the factors affecting qCO2. In our previous study 26) , for example, qCO 2 in a food chain system consisting of glucose, bacteria and protozoa was 13-fold higher than in the system of glucose and bacteria without the protozoa. This difference was attributable to the fact that microbial biomass in the presence of protozoa was one 12th of that in their absence, but the rate of CO2 evolution from the system was almost the same, irrespective of the presence of protozoa. Microbial food chain systems in soil contain fungi as well as bacteria and protozoa. Thus, investigation of qCO2 in the presence of fungi is also needed.Microbial biomass in soil has been estimated either by fumigation-extraction or incubation methods 27,28) . These methods are unable to distinguish live from dead cells. Although direct microscopic observation was sometimes applied 18,21,26) , live cells were not distinguished from dead cells; therefore, the qCO2 of live cells has not yet been evaluated.In this study, the qCO 2 of live cells was estimated in pure cultures of bacteria or mixed cultures with protozoa and/or fungi. Live cells were distinguished from dead ones by a staining method used with direct microscopic observation; however, studies on microbes in soil using direct microscopic observation are very laborious and difficult 5) because soil contains a lot of organic and inorganic particles which are similar in size and shape to microorganisms and have autofluorescence. We therefore used glass beads as model soil particles in this study because they are uniform in shape and contain neither debris nor organic compounds.Pseudomonas sp. strain DP-4 24) was used as a model heterotrophic bacterium. It was preincubated in an inorganic medium 26) supplemented with 1.6 mg C mL −1 of glucose for 6 days, with shaking, at 30°C and the bacterial cells were then collected by centrifugation (10,000×g, 15 min.). Tetrahymena thermophila inbred strain B, provided by Dr. T. Sugai of Ibaraki University, was used as a model protozoan. It was preincubated in a PYG medium (Bacto TM Peptone [Becton, Dickinson and Company, ...