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Comparing the Growth Characteristics of Three Bacteria Involved in Degrading Rubbers

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Abstract

Three bacteria isolated for degradation of rubbers were compared for their growth characteristics derived from the Bradford protein assay and turbidity (optical density, OD) measurement. Both Alcaligenes xylosoxidans T2 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa GP10 were fast-growing bacteria while Nocardia corynebacterioides S3 was a slow grower utilizing rubber as the sole source of carbon and energy, but the extent of degradation was lower by the formers than the latter. A. xylosoxidans T2, P. aeruginosa GP10 and N. corynebacterioides S3 showed a typical sigmoidal growth pattern based on binding of Coomassie Brilliant Blue G250 to bacterial proteins and spectrophotometrical measurement at 600 nm. Both assays showed similar growth characteristics for all three bacteria in this study. Degradation of rubber was more pronounced by N. corynebacterioides S3 than either A. xylosoxidans T2 or P. aeruginosa GP10 during 70 days of incubation. Our results suggest that slow-growing bacteria may play a much greater role in degrading polymeric materials than was previously believed.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by the ‘863 Project’ No. 2002AA601160 and SCSIO project No. LYQY200306. We thank Jessie Lai of this laboratory for technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Surface Biology/Environmental Microbiology, Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Environment Dynamics (LED), South China Sea Institute of Oceanography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 164 Xingang Road West, Guangzhou, 510301, P.R. China

    Ji-Dong Gu

  2. Laboratory of Environmental Microbiolgy and Toxicology, Department of Ecology & Biodiversity, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, P.R. China

    Ji-Dong Gu & Li Pan

  3. Department of Ecology & Biodiversity, The University of Hong Kong, 3S-11 Kadoorie Biological Sciences Building, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, P.R. China

    Ji-Dong Gu

Authors
  1. Ji-Dong Gu
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  2. Li Pan
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Correspondence to Ji-Dong Gu.

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Gu, JD., Pan, L. Comparing the Growth Characteristics of Three Bacteria Involved in Degrading Rubbers. J Polym Environ 14, 273–279 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-006-0016-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-006-0016-5

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