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Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Precise, High-throughput Analysis of Bacterial Growth
Published on: September 19, 2017
Kinetic concepts for measuring microbial rate constants: effects of nutrients on rate constants
1Environmental Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Athens, Georgia 30613.
Abstract:
We investigated the effect of preincubation of environmental waters amended with inorganic nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and traces of iron and magnesium) on the kinetics of the microbial transformation of phenol, propanil, propyl ester of (2,4-dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid, methyl parathion, Ronnel, and methoxychlor in pond and river waters. No effect on the second-order rate constants for these compounds was observed, although there was an increase in the bacterial populations and the pseudo-first-order rate constants. The use of nutrient-amended waters could be a useful tool for estimating second-order rate constants for an expanded number of compounds. This technique would provide a larger data base for predicting the behavior of xenobiotic compounds in the environment by using currently available mathematical models.
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