Growth of Thiobacillus novellus on mixed substrates (mixotrophic growth)

In a mixotrophic environment, Thiobacillus novellus concurrently utilized glucose and thiosulfate but showed no stimulation of growth rate or yield. In most mixotrophic environments examined, the growth rate was lower than the heterotrophic growth rate, the extent of the decrease depending on the concentration and relative proportion of thiosulfate and glucose in the medium. Both thiosulfate and glucose were degraded to their most oxidized products in mixotrophic medium, yet the biomass production in this medium was comparable to that found in heterotrophic medium containing glucose alone at the corresponding concentration. It was postulated that in mixotrophic medium the oxidation of thiosulfate, glucose, or partially that of both was uncoupled from energy generation. These results differ in many respects from those reported earlier by LeJohn et al. (J. Bacteriol. 94: 1484--1491, 1967); experiments designed to exactly duplicate some of the growth conditions employed by these workers did not resolve the discrepancy.