Pairwise (left, 1:1 ratio) or triplewise (right, 1:1:1 ratio) competition of Pseudomonas protegens CHA0, Pseudomonas sp. ASV1169 and Pseudomonas sp. ASV1173 in bulk soil or in the rhizosphere of wheat in growing conditions after 9 days without the NatCom. The competition index (CI) was calculated using the formula: CI = (CFUs of Sx at t 9 days CFUs of Sx at t 0 days)/(CFUs of Sy at t 9 days CFUs of Sy at t 0 days), where Sx and Xy denote the two strains being compared. Four technical replicates of four biological replicates (consisting of equal pools from four rhizospheres or bulk soil samples) were performed. The red dotted line indicates a competition where both strains would not be influenced by the presence of one another. Above this threshold, the competitor strain (CHA0 or ASV1168) outcompetes the other strain. Stacked bar plots below show the average percentage of CFUs recovered per tested strain. Significant pairwise differences are calculated according to Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Not significant (n.s.): p -value > 0.05.
