Production of the reserve material poly-β-hydroxybutyrate and its function in Azospirillum brasilense Cd

Azospirillum brasilense Cd was grown in ammonium-malate mineral salts medium in batch culture and in chemostat continuous culture. It was found that poly-β-hydroxybutyrate synthesis was favored under oxygen limitation in chemostat culture and under high C/N ratios towards the end of exponential growth in batch culture. The degradation and synthesis of poly-β-hydroxybutyrate under starvation conditions occurred in a biphasic pattern and was affected by the poly-β-hydroxybutyrate content of the cells. During a 7-day incubation period in phosphate buffer, the survival and respiration rate of bacteria containing about 40% poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (dry weight) were higher than those of cells containing about 5% poly-β-hydroxybutyrate. Polymer-rich cells fixed atmospheric nitrogen in the absence of exogenous carbon and combined nitrogen. Biphasic nitrogenase activity was observed during starvation. When nitrogenase activity was high, hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase activity was low and vice versa. Aerotactic response was higher in polymer-rich cells. In the presence of stress factors such as ultraviolet irradiation, dessication, and osmotic pressure poly-β-hydroxybutyrate-poor cells died more rapidly than poly-β-hydroxybutyrate-rich cells.