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Appl Environ Microbiol. 1985 March; 49(3): 702-705
Copyright © 1985, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Influence of Calcium Addition on Growth of Highly Purified Syntrophic Cultures Degrading Long-Chain Fatty Acids

Francis Roy1,{dagger},*, Guy Albagnac2 and Eric Samain2

1 Anjou Recherche, Chemin de la Digue, 78600 Maisons Laffitte, France
2 Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Station de Technologie Alimentaire 369, Rue Jules Guesde, 59650 Villeneuve D'Ascq, France

ABSTRACT

Two highly purified syntrophic associations resulting in acetogenesis from stearate (SM) and oleate (OM) were obtained from the sludges of a sewage digestor. In both cases, Methanospirillum hungatei together with short, motile, gram-negative, nonfluorescent rods morphologically similar to Syntrophomonas wolfei were identified by microscopic examination. Besides growing on volatile fatty acids (butyrate through caproate), both cultures grew on oleate (C18:1) and numerous even-numbered, saturated long-chain fatty acids (LCFA [decanoate through stearate]). In addition, during growth on LCFA, supplementation of the culture media with calcium chloride was an absolute requirement. The sole difference between the associations was observed when SM and OM cultures were transferred from a stearate to an oleate medium. The SM culture needed 10 days before starting to degrade oleate, whereas the OM culture grew immediately, but the OM culture also grew immediately when transferred to stearate medium. Saturated LCFA degradation occurred in the presence of equinormal amounts of calcium (fatty acid/Ca ratio, 2). On the other hand, OM degradation only took place in the presence of an equimolar amount of calcium (fatty acid/Ca ratio, 1). These observations are discussed by considering the solubility constants of LCFA as calcium salts and the toxicity of the free acids against microorganisms.

FOOTNOTES

* Corresponding author.

{dagger} Present address: Institut de le Recherche Agronomique Station de Technologie Alimentaire, Villeneuve D'Ascq, France.

Appl Environ Microbiol. 1985 March; 49(3): 702-705
Copyright © 1985, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Hatamoto, M., Imachi, H., Ohashi, A., Harada, H. (2007). Identification and Cultivation of Anaerobic, Syntrophic Long-Chain Fatty Acid-Degrading Microbes from Mesophilic and Thermophilic Methanogenic Sludges. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 1332-1340 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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