Abstract
Ethanol was rapidly degraded to mainly acetate in anaerobic freshwater sediment slurries. Propionate was produced in small amounts. Desulfovibrio species were the dominant bacteria among the ethanol-degrading organisms. The propionate-producing Desulfobulbus propionicus came to the fore under iron-limited conditions in an ethanol-limited chemostat with excess sulfate inoculated with anaerobic intertidal freshwater sediment. In the absence of sulfate, ethanol was fermented by D. propionicus Lindhorst to propionate and acetate in a molar ratio of 2.0.l-Propanol was intermediately produced during the fermentation of ethanol. In the presence of H2 and CO2, ethanol was quantitatively converted to propionate. H2-plus sulfate-grown cells of D. propionicus Lindhorst were able to oxidize l-propanol and l-butanol to propionate and butyrate respectively with the concomitant reduction of acetate plus CO2 to propionate. Growth was also observed on acetate alone in the presence of H2 and CO2 D. propionicus was able to grow mixotrophically on H2 plus an organic compound. Finally, a brief discussion has been given of the ecological niche of D. propionicus in anaerobic freshwater sediments.
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Laanbroek, H.J., Abee, T. & Voogd, I.L. Alcohol conversion by Desulfobulbus propionicus Lindhorst in the presence and absence of sulfate and hydrogen. Arch. Microbiol. 133, 178–184 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00414998
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00414998