Some Unique Features of Alkaliphilic Anaerobes

摘要

This article explores two topics involving the examination of four strains of alkaliphilic anaerobes. The first topic was dedicated to detection of the ability of microorganisms to metabolize alternative chirality substrates. Two saccharolytic anaerobic bacteria were chosen for the first experiment: Anaerovirgula multivorans strain SCA~T, which is gram positive and spore-forming; and Spirochaeta dissipatitropha, strain ASpC2~T, which is gram negative. It was found that both checked sugarlytics were able to use L-ribose and L-arabinose, as growth substrates. The second part was concerned of study a chemolithotrophy in two halo-alkaliphilic sulfate reducing bacteria: Desulfonatornum thiodismutans strain MLF1~T and Desulfonatronum lacustre strain Z-7951~T. The experiments with lithotrophs had demonstrated that strain MLF1~T was capable to grow without any organic source of carbon, while strain Z-7951~T had required at least 2 mM sodium acetate for growth. Anaerobic technique was used for preparation of the growth media and maintenance of these bacterial cultures. Standard methods for Gram, spore, and flagella staining were applied for characterization of cytomorphology. In this article, the results of the experiments performed on cytological, physiological, and biochemical levels are presented and discussed.