Growth of Azotobacter chroococcum in chemically defined media containing p-hydroxybenzoic acid and protocatechuic acid

Full-scale photobioreactor for biotreatment of olive washing water: Structure and diversity of the microalgae-bacteria consortium

The performance of a full-scale photobioreactor (PBR) for the treatment of olive washing water (OWW) was evaluated under different HRTs (5-2days). The system was able to treat up to 3926L OWWday^-1, and consisted of an activated-carbon pretreatment column and a tubular PBR unit (80 tubes, 98.17L volume, 2-m height, 0.25m diameter). PBR was an effective and environmentally friendly method for the removal of phenols, COD, BOD₅, turbidity and color from OWW (average efficiencies 94.84±0.55%, 85.86±1.24%, 99.12±0.17%, 95.86±0.98% and 87.24±0.91%, respectively). The diversity of total bacteria and microalgae in the PBR was analyzed using Illumina-sequencing, evaluating the efficiency of two DNA extraction methods. A stable microalgae-bacteria consortium was developed throughout the whole experimentation period, regardless of changes in HRT, temperature or solar radiation. MDS analyses revealed that the interplay between green algae (Sphaeropleales), cyanobacteria (Hapalosiphon) and Proteobacteria (Rhodopseudomonas, Azotobacter) played important roles in OWW bioremediation.

Immobilization of Delftia tsuruhatensis in macro-porous cellulose and biodegradation of phenolic compounds in repeated batch process

Delftia tsuruhatensis BM90, previously isolated from Tyrrhenian Sea and selected for its ability to degrade a wide array of phenolic compounds, was immobilized in chemically modified macro porous cellulose. The development of bacterial adhesion on the selected carrier was monitored by scanning electron microscopy. Evident colonization started already after 8h of incubation. After 72h, almost all the carrier surface was covered by the bacterial cells. Extracellular bacterial structures, such as pili or fimbriae, contributed to carrier colonization and cell attachment. Immobilized cells of D. tsuruhatensis were tested for their ability to biodegrade a pool of 20 phenols in repeated batch process. During the first activation batch (72h), 90% of phenols degradation was obtained already in 48h. In the subsequent batches (up to 360h), same degradation was obtained after 24h only. By contrast, free cells were slower: to obtain almost same degradation, 48h were needed. Thus, process productivity, achieved by the immobilized cells, was double than that of free cells. Specific activity was also higher suggesting that the use of immobilized D. tsuruhatensis BM90 could be considered very promising in order to obtain an efficient reusable biocatalyst for long-term treatment of phenols containing effluents.

Characterization of free nitrogen fixing bacteria of the genus Azotobacter in organic vegetable-grown Colombian soils

With the purpose of isolating and characterizing free nitrogen fixing bacteria (FNFB) of the genus Azotobacter, soil samples were collected randomly from different vegetable organic cultures with neutral pH in different zones of Boyacá-Colombia. Isolations were done in selective free nitrogen Ashby-Sucrose agar obtaining a recovery of 40%. Twenty four isolates were evaluated for colony and cellular morphology, pigment production and metabolic activities. Molecular characterization was carried out using amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA). After digestion of 16S rDNA Y1-Y3 PCR products (1487pb) with AluI, HpaII and RsaI endonucleases, a polymorphism of 16% was obtained. Cluster analysis showed three main groups based on DNA fingerprints. Comparison between ribotypes generated by isolates and in silico restriction of 16S rDNA partial sequences with same restriction enzymes was done with Gen Workbench v.2.2.4 software. Nevertheless, Y1-Y2 PCR products were analysed using BLASTn. Isolate C5T from tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) grown soils presented the same in silico restriction patterns with A. chroococcum (AY353708) and 99% of similarity with the same sequence. Isolate C5CO from cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) grown soils showed black pigmentation in Ashby-Benzoate agar and high similarity (91%) with A. nigricans (AB175651) sequence. In this work we demonstrated the utility of molecular techniques and bioinformatics tools as a support to conventional techniques in characterization of the genus Azotobacter from vegetable-grown soils.