Ciliated protozoan with the effect of promoting plant seed germination and seedling growth

A method for promoting the germination of Arabidopsis thaliana seeds using ciliated protozoa, comprising the steps of:

• a) synchronizing the Arabidopsis thaliana seeds by dark incubation at 4ºC for 7 days;
• b) disinfecting the synchronized Arabidopsis thaliana seeds in 75% ethanol for 10 minutes and suspending the plant seeds in 0.1% agarose;
• c) mixing soil and distilled water, and then subjecting the soil and distilled water to high-pressure steam sterilization to remove preexisting soil microorganisms producing hydrated soil;
• d) cutting gauze and placing the gauze at the bottom of each pot of a plurality of pots, wherein the plurality of pots consists of 20 pots;
• e) aliquoting the hydrated soil into each pot of the plurality of pots;
• f) placing nine seeds in each pot of the plurality of pots;
• g) treating the hydrated soil in each pot of the plurality of pots with an Escherichia coli suspension;
• h) treating each pot of the plurality of pots with approximately 20,000 ciliated protozoa;
• i) labeling each pot, and placing each pot of the plurality of pots onto a tray of a plurality of trays;
• j) placing each tray of the plurality of trays in a different culture chamber with a temperature of 25° C., a 16/8 hour (light/dark) cycle, humidity of 65%, and light intensity of 4950 lux;
• and
• k) photographing and watering any Arabidopsis thaliana plants,
• wherein the ciliated protozoa are a Colpoda species with a preservation number of China Center for Type Culture Collection No. C202229.