engleski

Possible Interactions Within a Methanotrophic-Heterotrophic Groundwater Community Able To Transform Linear Alkylbenzenesulphonates

The relationships and interactions within a methanotrophic-heterotrophic groundwater community were studied in closed system (shake culture) in the presence of methane as the primary carbon and energy source and with the addition of the pure LAS congener 2-[4-(sulphophenyl)] decan as cometabolic substrate. When cultured under different conditions, this community was shown to be a stable association, consisting of one obligate type II methanotroph and four to five heterotrophs possessing different nutritional and physiological characteristics. The results of experiments examing growth kinetics and nutritional relationships suggested that a number of complex interactions existed in the community in which the methanotroph was the only member able to grow on methane and to cometabolically initiate LAS transformation. These growth and metabolic activities of the methanotroph ensured the supply of carbon source and specific nutrients which sustained the growth of four or five heterotrophs. In addition to the obligatory nutritional relationships between the methanotroph and heterotrophs, other possible interactions resulted in the modification of basic growth parameters of individual populations and a concerted metabolic attack on complex LAS molecule. Most of these relationships conferred beneficial effects to the interacting populations, making the community adaptable to various environmental conditions and more efficient in LAS transformation than any of the individual populations alone.

methanotrophic-heterotrophic community; relationship

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