Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1099/mic.0.068957-0
Title (Primary) Cultivation of Aquincola tertiaricarbonis L108 on the fuel oxygenate intermediate tert-butyl alcohol induces aerobic anoxygenic photosynthesis at extremely low feeding rates
Author Rohwerder, T.; Müller, R.H.; Weichler, M.T.; Schuster, J.; Hübschmann, T.; Müller, S.; Harms, H.
Source Titel Microbiology-SGM
Year 2013
Department UMB
Volume 159
Issue 10
Page From 2180
Page To 2190
Language englisch
UFZ wide themes RU3;
Abstract

Aerobic anoxygenic photosynthesis (AAP) is found in an increasing number of proteobacterial strains thriving in ecosystems ranging from extremely oligotrophic to eutrophic. Here, we have investigated whether the fuel oxygenate-degrading betaproteobacterium Aquincola tertiaricarbonis L108 can use AAP to compensate kinetic limitations at low heterotrophic substrate fluxes. In a fermenter experiment with complete biomass retention and also during chemostat cultivation, strain L108 was challenged with extremely low substrate feeding rates of tert-butyl alcohol (TBA), an intermediate of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). Interestingly, formation of photosynthetic pigments, identified as bacteriochlorophyll a and spirilloxanthin, was only induced in growing cells at TBA feeding rates less than or equal to maintenance requirements observed under energy excess conditions. Growth continued at rates between 0.001 and 0.002 h−1 even when the TBA feed was decreased to values close to 30 % of this maintenance rate. Partial sequencing of genomic DNA of strain L108 revealed a bacteriochlorophyll synthesis gene cluster (bchFNBHL) and photosynthesis regulator genes (ppsR and ppaA) typically found in AAP and other photosynthetic proteobacteria. The usage of light as auxiliary energy source enabling evolution of efficient degradation pathways for kinetically limited heterotrophic substrates and for lowering the threshold substrate concentration Smin at which growth becomes zero is discussed.

Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=14300
Rohwerder, T., Müller, R.H., Weichler, M.T., Schuster, J., Hübschmann, T., Müller, S., Harms, H. (2013):
Cultivation of Aquincola tertiaricarbonis L108 on the fuel oxygenate intermediate tert-butyl alcohol induces aerobic anoxygenic photosynthesis at extremely low feeding rates
Microbiology-(UK) 159 (10), 2180 - 2190 10.1099/mic.0.068957-0