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Analysis Of Protistan Grazing On Bioremediative Bacteria Using In Wvo Fluorescent Protein Expression And Flow Cytometry, Yutao Fu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Protistan bacterivory can influence the size distribution, cell structure and composition of natural bacterial communities and is of significant concern for design of bioremediation efforts, yet adequate methods for observation and modeling are lacking. In this investigation, fluorescent protein expression and flow cytometry were used to study protistan grazing on genetically modified strains of several bacterial species that have been considered for use in bioremediation. Broad-host-range plasmids were constructed and used to introduce genes encoding GFP (green fluorescent protein) or RFP (red fluorescent protein) to prey species. A heterotrophic flagellate Paraphysomonas imperforata (Hflag) served as a model predator. Predator-prey interactions …