The Growth and Respiration of Some Soil Bacteria in Juices of Leguminous and Non-Leguminous Plants

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Growth and respiration of several spp. of bacteria were studied in juices expressed from different types of plants. Most of the legume bacteria studied were able to grow in freshly expressed juices of their host plants, but such juices were bactericidal to other spp. of root-nodule bacteria and closely related organisms. The cowpea bacteria grew as well as Rhizobium japonicum in soybean juice. Navy bean juice was bactericidal to R. phaseolus in some instances. In no instances were the juices bactericidal to Pseudomonas pyocyanea. The bactericidal effects noted varied from inhibition of growth to agglutination and precipitation and probably a breakdown of the cells; the effects seem to be associated with the protein fraction.