Isolation and identification of hyper-ammonia producing bacteria from swine manure storage pits

Storage of swine manure is associated with the microbiological production of a variety of odorous compounds, including ammonia, organic acids, and alcohols, phenolics, and sulfides. Until recently, little was known about the microorganisms responsible for their production. Results from our laboratory have demonstrated that the predominant microbial populations of stored swine manure are anaerobic, low (G + C), Gram-positive bacteria. However, studies on pure cultures isolated from manure have found few microorganisms that produce appreciable ammonia concentrations. Therefore, selective and enrichment techniques were employed to isolate ammonia-producing bacteria from stored swine manure by using media containing peptone and amino acids as carbon and energy sources. We now report on the isolation of 40 bacterial cultures, a number of which are capable of producing at least 40 mM ammonia in peptone-amino acid medium, concentrations similar to those produced by hyper-ammonia producing (HAP) bacteria isolated from the rumen of cattle. The manure HAP isolates are phylogenetically distinct from the ruminal isolates and may prove to be intimately involved in the production of ammonia during storage of swine manure.