This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Güven, D. Articles by Schmidt, I. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Güven, D. Articles by Schmidt, I. Agricola Articles by Güven, D. Articles by Schmidt, I.

Propionate Oxidation by and Methanol Inhibition of Anaerobic Ammonium-Oxidizing Bacteria

Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey,¹ Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain,² Department of Microbiology, University of Nijmegen, Nijmegen,³ Department of Biotechnology, Technical University Delft, Delft, The Netherlands,⁴ Department of Microbiology, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany⁵

Received 19 May 2004/ Accepted 27 September 2004

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) is a recently discovered microbial pathway and a cost-effective way to remove ammonium from wastewater. Anammox bacteria have been described as obligate chemolithoautotrophs. However, many chemolithoautotrophs (i.e., nitrifiers) can use organic compounds as a supplementary carbon source. In this study, the effect of organic compounds on anammox bacteria was investigated. It was shown that alcohols inhibited anammox bacteria, while organic acids were converted by them. Methanol was the most potent inhibitor, leading to complete and irreversible loss of activity at concentrations as low as 0.5 mM. Of the organic acids acetate and propionate, propionate was consumed at a higher rate (0.8 nmol min^–1 mg of protein^–1) by Percoll-purified anammox cells. Glucose, formate, and alanine had no effect on the anammox process. It was shown that propionate was oxidized mainly to CO₂, with nitrate and/or nitrite as the electron acceptor. The anammox bacteria carried out propionate oxidation simultaneously with anaerobic ammonium oxidation. In an anammox enrichment culture fed with propionate for 150 days, the relative amounts of anammox cells and denitrifiers did not change significantly over time, indicating that anammox bacteria could compete successfully with heterotrophic denitrifiers for propionate. In conclusion, this study shows that anammox bacteria have a more versatile metabolism than previously assumed.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Jensen, M. M., Thamdrup, B., Dalsgaard, T. (2007). Effects of Specific Inhibitors on Anammox and Denitrification in Marine Sediments. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 3151-3158 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Rogers, S. W., Moorman, T. B., Ong, S. K. (2007). Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization and Micro-autoradiography Applied to Ecophysiology in Soil. Soil Sci. 71: 620-631 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Tal, Y., Watts, J. E. M., Schreier, H. J. (2006). Anaerobic Ammonium-Oxidizing (Anammox) Bacteria and Associated Activity in Fixed-Film Biofilters of a Marine Recirculating Aquaculture System. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 2896-2904 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Meyer, R. L., Risgaard-Petersen, N., Allen, D. E. (2005). Correlation between Anammox Activity and Microscale Distribution of Nitrite in a Subtropical Mangrove Sediment. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 6142-6149 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Kuypers, M. M. M., Lavik, G., Woebken, D., Schmid, M., Fuchs, B. M., Amann, R., Jorgensen, B. B., Jetten, M. S. M. (2005). From The Cover: Massive nitrogen loss from the Benguela upwelling system through anaerobic ammonium oxidation. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102: 6478-6483 [Abstract] [Full Text]