Microorganisms are well adapted to their soil microhabitat where they live together in consortia, interacting with other living members, including earthworms. This literature review consists of four sections that focus on microscale interactions between earthworms and microorganisms. The first part is devoted to nephridia symbiosis. Recent discoveries show that Verminephrobacter spp. is present...

Grass cropping in the rotation and the use of no-till seeding appear to be important components for developing sustainable cropping systems. Grass cropping and no-till seeding improve soil organic matter content, increase the soil microbial biomass, increase earthworm numbers, likely cause a buildup of fungivorous microarthropods and nematodes, and greatly increases the resistance of soil to er...

Earthworms possess antioxidant, antibacterial, antitumor, and hemolytic properties. To recognize the molecules responsible for various biological activities of earthworm’s coelomic fluid, a detailed knowledge about its protein contents is required. The aim of this study was to characterize the proteins present within the coelomic fluid of Eisenia foetida earthworm. Polyacrylamide-gel-elec...

Earthworm fibrinolytic enzyme component A, a protein which functions both as a direct fibrinolytic enzyme and a plasminogen activator, was purified from the earthworm Eisenia fetida. Diffraction-quality single crystals of the protein were grown by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion technique with ammonium sulfate as a precipitant. The crystals belong to the orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1)...

The introduction of invasive earthworms initiates physical and chemical alterations in previously earthworm-free forest soils, which triggers an ecological cascade. most apparent step is the shift herbaceous plant community composition. However, some species, such as Arisaema triphyllum (jack-in-the-pulpit), persist where are present. It has been hypothesized that A. produces insoluble oxalate,...