Beneficial effects of bacteria on vascular plants

Abstract

Scope and Method of Study: Of the various relationships which bacteria have with other organisms, the ones which have received the least attention in high school biology texts are those concerning the beneficial effects which bacteria have upon higher plants. A survey of recent literature was made in order to determine what these effects are. The specific purpose of this report is to provide the high school science teacher with a brief, and, I hope, useful summary of (a) the various beneficial effects, (b) background information necessary to understand there effects, and (c) the present status of research in this area. The scope of this report is limited to include the beneficial effects which bacteria have upon the vascular plants, although some of the indirect benefits to vascular plants may involve lower plants or animals. The literature surveyed is that reported in the past ten years and, due to the broad scope of the subject matter, has been selected to be representative of the areas of the study involved.

Findings of the Study: The primary ways in which bacteria aid vascular plants were found to be involved with their actions on various mineral substances, their production of nutrients, activators, and antibiotics, their actions on soil poisons, and their control of predators. Current work is underway in all fields and progress is being made in both pure and applied areas.