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Appl Environ Microbiol. 1985 June; 49(6): 1461-1466
Copyright © 1985, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Isolation of a Butyrate-Utilizing Bacterium in Coculture with Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum from a Thermophilic Digester {dagger}

J. Michael Henson{ddagger},* and P. H. Smith

Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611

ABSTRACT

Sludge from a thermophilic, 55°C digester produced methane without a lag period when enriched with butyrate. The sludge was found by most-probable-number enumeration to have ca. 5 x 106 butyrate-utilizing bacteria per ml. A thermophilic butyrate-utilizing bacterium was isolated in coculture with Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum. This bacterium was a gram-negative, slightly curved rod, occurred singly, was nonmotile, and did not appear to produce spores. When this coculture was incubated with Methanospirillum hungatei at 37°C, the quantity of methane produced was less than 5% of the methane produced when the coculture was incubated at 55°C, the routine incubation temperature. The coculture required clarified digester fluid. The addition of yeast extract to medium containing 5% clarified digester fluid stimulated methane production when a Methanosarcina sp. was present. Hydrogen in the gas phase prevented butyrate utilization. However, when the hydrogen was removed, butyrate utilization began. Penicillin G and D-cycloserine caused the complete inhibition of butyrate utilization by the coculture. The ability of various ecosystems to convert butyrate to methane was studied. Marine sediments enriched with butyrate required a 2-week incubation period before methanogenesis began. Hypersaline sediments did not produce methane after 3 months when enriched with butyrate.

FOOTNOTES

* Corresponding author.

{ddagger} Present address: Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Ada, OK 74820.

{dagger} Florida Agricultural Experiment Station Journal Series no. 5979.

Appl Environ Microbiol. 1985 June; 49(6): 1461-1466
Copyright © 1985, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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