Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Applied and Environmental Microbiology logoLink to Applied and Environmental Microbiology
. 1979 May;37(5):800–804. doi: 10.1128/aem.37.5.800-804.1979

Growth and Polysaccharide Production by Methylocystis parvus OBBP on Methanol

C T Hou 1, A I Laskin 1, R N Patel 1
PMCID: PMC243305  PMID: 16345377

Abstract

Methylocystis parvus OBBP, an obligate methylotroph originally isolated as a methane-utilizing bacterium, was cultivated on methanol as a sole source of carbon. After adaptation to high methanol levels, this organism grew on methanol with a maximum specific growth rate of 0.65 h−1. The pH optimum for growth was between 7 and 9, and the temperature optimum was between 30 and 37°C. Methanol concentrations higher than 5% (by weight) were toxic. Formaldehyde, at a concentration greater than 1 mM, inhibited growth. Formate was neither a substrate nor an inhibitor. An extracellular viscous heteropolysaccharide was produced during growth. The maximum production of the total biomass was 14.5 g (dry weight) per liter of broth. The dried biomass contained 22% (wt/wt) crude protein and 62% (wt/wt) polysaccharide. The main components of the polysaccharide were d-glucose (82%) and l-rhamnose (14%).

Full text

PDF
800

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Abbott B. J., Laskin A. I., McCoy C. J. Growth of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus on ethanol. Appl Microbiol. 1973 May;25(5):787–792. doi: 10.1128/am.25.5.787-792.1973. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Anthony C. The biochemistry of methylotrophic micro-organisms. Sci Prog. 1975 Summer;62(246):167–206. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Chen B. J., Hirt W., Lim H. C., Tsao G. T. Growth characteristics of a new methylomonad. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1977 Feb;33(2):269–274. doi: 10.1128/aem.33.2.269-274.1977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Davies S. L., Whittenbury R. Fine structure of methane and other hydrocarbon-utilizing bacteria. J Gen Microbiol. 1970 May;61(2):227–232. doi: 10.1099/00221287-61-2-227. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. FLECK A., MUNRO H. N. The precision of ultraviolet absorption measurements in the Schmidt-Thannhauser procedure for nucleic acid estimation. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1962 May 14;55:571–583. doi: 10.1016/0006-3002(62)90836-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Foster J. W., Davis R. H. A methane-dependent coccus, with notes on classification and nomenclature of obligate, methane-utilizing bacteria. J Bacteriol. 1966 May;91(5):1924–1931. doi: 10.1128/jb.91.5.1924-1931.1966. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Patel R. N., Felix A. Microbial oxidation of methane and methanol: crystallization and properties of methanol dehydrogenase from Methylosinus sporium. J Bacteriol. 1976 Oct;128(1):413–424. doi: 10.1128/jb.128.1.413-424.1976. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Patel R. N., Hou C. T., Felix A. Microbial oxidation of methane and methanol: crystallization of methanol dehydrogenase and properties of holo- and apomethanol dehydrogenase from Methylomonas methanica. J Bacteriol. 1978 Feb;133(2):641–649. doi: 10.1128/jb.133.2.641-649.1978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Pilát P., Prokop A. The effect of methanol, formaldehyde, and formic acid on growth of Candida boidinii 11 Bh. Biotechnol Bioeng. 1975 Dec;17(12):1717–1728. doi: 10.1002/bit.260171203. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Slodki M. E., Wickerham L. J. Extracellular polysaccharides and classification of the genus Lipomyces. J Gen Microbiol. 1966 Mar;42(3):381–385. doi: 10.1099/00221287-42-3-381. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. TREVELYAN W. E., HARRISON J. S. Studies on yeast metabolism. I. Fractionation and microdetermination of cell carbohydrates. Biochem J. 1952 Jan;50(3):298–303. doi: 10.1042/bj0500298. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Whittenbury R., Phillips K. C., Wilkinson J. F. Enrichment, isolation and some properties of methane-utilizing bacteria. J Gen Microbiol. 1970 May;61(2):205–218. doi: 10.1099/00221287-61-2-205. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Applied and Environmental Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES