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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, May 1999, p. 2032-2034, Vol. 65, No. 5
0099-2240/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

A New Sensitive Bioassay for Determination of Microbially Available Phosphorus in Water

Markku J. Lehtola,1,* Ilkka T. Miettinen,1 Terttu Vartiainen,2,3 and Pertti J. Martikainen1,3

Laboratory of Environmental Microbiology1 and Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry,2 National Public Health Institute, FIN-70701 Kuopio, and Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Kuopio, FIN-70211 Kuopio,3 Finland

Received 20 April 1998/Accepted 2 February 1999

The content of assimilable organic carbon has been proposed to control the growth of microbes in drinking water. However, recent results have shown that there are regions where it is predominantly phosphorus which determines the extent of microbial growth in drinking waters. Even a very low concentration of phosphorus (below 1 µg of P liter-1) can promote extensive microbial growth. We present here a new sensitive method to determine microbially available phosphorus concentrations in water down to 0.08 µg of P liter-1. The method is a bioassay in which the analysis of phosphorus in a water sample is based on maximum growth of Pseudomonas fluorescens P17 when the energy supply and inorganic nutrients, with the exception of phosphorus, do not limit bacterial growth. Maximum growth (CFU) in the water sample is related to the concentration of phosphorus with the factor 373,200 ± 9,400 CFU/µg of PO4-P. A linear relationship was found between cell growth and phosphorus concentration between 0.05 to 10 µg of PO4-P liter-1. The content of microbially available phosphorus in Finnish drinking waters varied from 0.1 to 10.2 µg of P liter-1 (median, 0.60 µg of P liter-1).

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: National Public Health Institute, Laboratory of Environmental Microbiology, P.O. Box 95, 70701 Kuopio, Finland. Phone: 358 17 201371. Fax: 358 17 201155. E-mail: Markku.Lehtola{at}ktl.fi.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, May 1999, p. 2032-2034, Vol. 65, No. 5
0099-2240/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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