The attachment of bacterial cells to surfaces under anaerobic conditions

✍ Scribed by Martin Meier-Schneiders; Claudia Busch; Gabriele Diekert

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1993
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 992 KB
• Volume: 38
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1432-0614
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00182808

✦ Synopsis

The cell fixation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Citrobacter amalonaticus, and Methanosarcina barkeri to lipid-free glass slides was investigated under anaerobic conditions using cell number, protein content, and ATP level as the biomass parameters. Energy substrates stimulated the attachment of P. aeruginosa and C. amalonaticus significantly as compared to the fixation behaviour in basal medium without substrates. The fixation exhibited characteristic kinetics of attachment and detachment of the cells. Cells of M. barkeri obtained from pure cultures did not adhere at all. In mixed cultures with C. amalonaticus, significant fixation of M. barkeri cells was observed. Light micrographs gave rise to the assumption that M. barkeri was "incorporated" into already existing biofilms. This mechanism is supposed to be important for retaining methanogenic biomass in anaerobic biofilms. The results could help to reduce the start-up periods of biofilm reactors and to enhance methanogenic activities in this environment. This assumption was supported by experiments performed with methanogenic mixed cultures fixed to ceramic particles in biofilm reactors.