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Updated: May 7, 2026

A Novel Bioreactor for High Density Cultivation of Diverse Microbial Communities
Published on: December 25, 2015
Mutualism between autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and heterotrophs present in an ammonia-oxidizing
Radhika Keluskar1, Anuradha Nerurkar, Anjana Desai
1Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology Centre, Faculty of Science, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, 390 002, Gujarat, India.
Abstract:
Coexistence of an autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacterium (Nitrosomonas sp. RA) and heterotrophic bacteria was consistently observed when cultured in an inorganic medium without any external supply of organic carbon. The present study was undertaken to understand the association between autotrophs and the associated heterotrophs for which a system containing active autotrophs and heterotrophs controlled by Hg(2+) addition was developed. The study revealed interdependence of heterotrophs and Nitrosomonas sp. RA for growth under iron-limited condition. Growth of Nitrosomonas sp. RA was supported by siderophores produced by the associated heterotroph, Pusillimonas sp., thereby complementing its high iron requirement while the organics (such as pyruvate) excreted by Nitrosomonas sp. RA during its autotrophic growth supported the survival of heterotrophs in the inorganic medium. The study thus sheds light on the nature of the mutual interactions between heterotrophs and autotrophs that play a role in the ammonia-oxidizing system involved in wastewater treatment.
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