Development of Defined, Minimal, and Complete Media for the Growth of Hyphomicrobium neptunium

A complete synthetic medium containing 15 amino acids, a minimal synthetic medium (GAMS) containing 4 amino acids, and a supplemented minimal medium (GAMS + calcium pantothenate) have been developed for the cultivation of Hyphomicrobium neptunium ATCC 15444. Depending on the complexity of the synthetic media, generation times were approximately 2 to 3 times longer, and maximum cell densities were 0.3 to 0.9 log(10) lower than in ZoBell marine broth 2216. The fates of C-labeled amino acids in GAMS were monitored. Results suggested that H. neptunium was auxotrophic for methionine, utilized glutamic acid as a primary energy source, and readily anabolized and catabolized serine and aspartic acid. Individual amino acid concentrations above 125 mM induced prolonged lag periods, whereas only methionine was not growth limiting at a concentration as low as 2 mM.