Test Medium for the Growth of Nitrosomonas europaea

A mineral medium for studying the growth of Nitrosomonas europaea was developed and examined. The medium was defined in terms of chemical speciation by using chemical equilibrium computer models. The medium significantly increased the metabolic activity of the organisms compared with previously developed media, yielding a specific growth rate as high as 3.0 day (generation time, 5.5 h). The specific growth rate was enhanced by increasing the inoculum and was linearly correlated with the inoculum-to-total-culture volume ratio on a semilog scale. A reproducible growth rate for N. europaea was obtained with this medium under controlled experimental conditions.