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. 2014 Oct 23;10(10):e1004742. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1004742

Figure 4. Effect of competing species on the growth of the S. meliloti ΔpSymAB strain in bulk soil mesocosms.

Figure 4

The S. meliloti ΔpSymAB strain was grown in bulk soil mesocosms in the presence of either an Aspergillus species, Pseudomonas syringae, or Streptomyces ceolicolor and the growth of the ΔpSymAB strain was examined. The decreased stationary phase density during competition is presumably reflective of competition for nutrients and the reduced availability of nutrients due to usage by the competitor. On the other hand, there is a relative lack of effect on the early exponential growth of the ΔpSymAB strain, and it is able to establish a stable stationary phase population in the presence of the competing species. See materials and methods for details on experimental set-up. Purple – ΔpSymAB alone; teal – ΔpSymAB with a soil-isolated Aspergillus species; brown – ΔpSymAB with P. syringae; orange – ΔpSymAB with S. ceolicolor. Data points represent single values.