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Enrichment and Isolation of Metal Respiring Hydrocarbon Oxidizers

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Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology Protocols

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Abstract

The energy conservation strategies of plants and animals are exceedingly homogeneous in comparison with those of bacterial cells. Among the wide variety of mechanisms that exist to provide energy and electrons to support bacterial life, the use of insoluble metallic elements as electron acceptors is one of the most interesting. The prevalence of metallic elements in the minerals that comprise soils and sediments raises the possibility that metal respiring organisms play a significant role in a variety of biogeochemical transformations. The environmental abundance of metals also inspires the hope that cells capable of coupling metal respiration to the oxidation of contaminant hydrocarbons can be captured, studied, and manipulated to enhance biodegradation processes. Indirect mechanisms of iron cycling may also play a role in hydrocarbon degradation. Biogenic Fe(II) bearing minerals such as magnetite, as well as reactive Fe(II) sorption on crystalline iron oxides, have also been shown to dechlorinate carbon tetrachloride and reduce nitroaromatic compounds. This protocol provides an overview of anaerobic culturing and specific techniques for the enrichment and isolation of metal respiring hydrocarbon oxidizers from environments of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Adam J. Williamson & John D. Coates

Authors
  1. Adam J. Williamson
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  2. John D. Coates
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Correspondence to John D. Coates .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, Essex, United Kingdom

    Terry J. McGenity

  2. Institute of Microbiology, Technical University Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany

    Kenneth N. Timmis

  3. Department of Biology, University of the Balearic Islands and Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA, UIB-CSIC), Palma de Mallorca, Spain

    Balbina Nogales

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Williamson, A.J., Coates, J.D. (2016). Enrichment and Isolation of Metal Respiring Hydrocarbon Oxidizers. In: McGenity, T., Timmis, K., Nogales , B. (eds) Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology Protocols. Springer Protocols Handbooks. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/8623_2016_198

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/8623_2016_198

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-45178-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-45179-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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