In this study agriculturally important Pseudomonas spp. which may solubilize phosphate and Azotobacter chroococcum which can fix atmospheric nitrogen were grown on waste beer with 4 different concentrations and conditions for best growth were determined. Having potential of use as biofertilizers, they were put in the carrier material peat and survivals of them were observed for 3 months at three different temperatures. Biofertilizer can be defined as a substance which contains living microorganisms which, when applied to seed, plant surface, or soil, colonizes the rhizosphere or the interior of the plant and promotes growth by replacing soil nutrients or making nutrients more available or increasing plant access to nutrients. In order to benefit from the biofertilizers, viable and active microorganisms in high numbers must be present which requires high quality inoculants. The carrier substrate is a critical part of the product formulation and must be capable of supporting high numbers of the intended microbe(s). It was found that Pseudomonas spp. can solubilize phosphate. Furthermore, conditions for best growth for both bacteria were determined as 30 % of waste beer. Peat was found as an appropriate carrier due to preservation of viable cells for 3 months at 0 &ordm / C, 20 &ordm / C and 30 &ordm / C. However, peat couldn&rsquo / t support high numbers of Pseudomonas spp. at 30 &ordm / C.

Alginates are copolymers of &beta / -D-mannuronic (M) and &alpha / -L-guluronic acids (G). In this study, Azotobacter vinelandii ATCC&reg / 9046 was used to produce alginate in a fermentor. The effect of parameters such as dissolved oxygen tension (DOT), agitation speed, initial concentrations of sucrose and calcium on the properties of alginate were examined. Changes of DOT in the range of 1 and 10 % affected alginate production. The optimum DOT giving high alginate yield (4.51 g/L) and maximum viscosity was observed as 5 % yielding moderate GG-blocks of 55 %. Both high and low agitation levels reduced alginate production, but these conditions increased GG-block alginates as 76 and 87 % at 200 and 700 rpm, respectively. Moderate sucrose and calcium concentrations, 20 g/L and 50 mg/L, respectively were found better since further increase in their concentrations did not lead to a considerable improvement in alginate production and quality. Sodium alginates produced in this work were investigated for maximum heavy metal uptake with a special focus on copper ion and the highest copper uptake was around 1.9 mM Cu2+/g alginate. Findings showed that the block distribution of alginate was not as important as expected for copper removal. Alginate together with calcium ions was used for the removal of turbidity. The amount of GG-block was found to be important in turbidity removal. Alginate having 55 % GG block and 8.9 cP viscosity resulted in a final turbidity lower than 1 NTU at 2 mg/L of alginate with 60 mg/L of calcium ion.

In this study, Azotobacter vinelandii ATCC13705 (A. vinelandii), which is a free-living, nitrogen-fixing, gram-negative, and aerobic rod bacterium, was need to evaluate its ability to biodegrade tetracyanonickelate (TCN) under different conditions. Results show that A. vinelandii was able to biodegrade various concentrations of TCN (1, 10, and 20 mM) under aerobic conditions. Oxygen consumption and nitrogenase activity were investigated at 1 mM of TCN. Results indicate that the production of ammonia and methane was observed when TCN was consumed. Results suggest that nitrogenase was possibly involved in the enzymatic degradation of TCN. Moreover, higher degradation rate of TCN, higher nitrogenase activity, higher oxygen consumption, and higher specific growth rates were also observed at log growth period. Results suggest that the hypothesis of respiratory protection of nitrogenase is supported. Moreover, the addition of ammonia (1, 5, and 10 mM) would cause the decrease of TCN degradation rate (28%) during a 24-hr incubation period. Inhibition of TCN degradation (degradation rate¡G16% for 24 hrs) was observed when nitrite (5 and 10 mM) was added into the growth medium. Furthermore, the addition of 8% of glucose would significantly enhance the TCN degradation by the resting cells (degradation rate¡G43% for 8 hrs) . Results from this study provide us insight into the characteristics and mechanisms of TCN conversion by A. vinelandii.

Thesis (M.S.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Biological Sciences. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Biological Sciences. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Orientador: Crispin Humberto Garcia Cruz / Banca: Alexandre Rodrigo Coelho / Banca: Vanildo Luiz Del Bianchi / Resumo: O alginato é um polissacarídeo normalmente extraído de paredes celulares de algas marrons utilizado nas indústrias de alimentos, farmacêuticas e biotecnológicas. A produção é concentrada no cultivo de algas marinhas marrons, mas várias bactérias do gênero Pseudomonas e Azotobacter produzem alginato. A estrutura química dos alginatos produzidos por algas é similar aos sintetizados pela A. vinelandii. Esta bactéria também produz polímeros intracelulares como o poli-hidroxibutirato (PHB), conhecido como bioplástico. Neste trabalho estudou-se a produção simultânea do alginato e PHB pela A. vinelandii utilizando sacarose, glicose e melaço de cana-de-açúcar como fontes de carbono, além de diferentes parâmetros de fermentação em agitador orbital rotatório. Os valores ótimos para a produção destes compostos foram determinados pela metodologia de superfície de resposta (MSR). O 1º experimento realizado para as três fontes de carbono foi um planejamento fatorial fracionado 26-2 (variáveis independentes: concentração da fonte de carbono; concentração de acetato de amônio; concentração de citrato de amônio e ferro (III); pH; temperatura de incubação e tempo de incubação). O 2º experimento baseou-se nos valores ótimos de produção de PHB para cada fonte de carbono e resultou em um planejamento fatorial completo 33-0 (variáveis independentes: concentração da fonte de carbono; temperatura de incubação e tempo de incubação). Verificou-se que a maior produtividade de PHB (100 mg/g de célula/h) utilizando o melaço de cana-de-açúcar ocorreu no tempo de incubação de aproximadamente 10 h, a 60,0ºC e nas concentrações de sólidos solúveis entre 14,0 - 25,0%. A glicose apresentou uma maior produtividade de PHB (60 mg/g de célula/h) no tempo de incubação de aproximadamente 10 h, entre 23,0-26,0ºC e concentração de glicose... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The alginate is a polysaccharide extracted from cell walls of brown seaweed used in the industries of food, pharmaceutical and biotechnology. The production is concentrated in the brown seaweed cultivation, but several bacteria, Pseudomonas and Azotobacter genus, produce alginate. The chemical structure of alginate produced by algae is similar to those synthesized by A. vinelandii. This bacterium also produces intracellular polymers such as polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), known as bioplastic. In this work the simultaneous alginate and PHB production by A. vinelandii using sucrose, glucose and sugar cane molasses as carbon source, and different fermentation parameters in orbital shaker was studied. The optimum values for the production of these compounds were determined by the response surface methodology (RSM). The 1st experiment conducted for the three carbon sources was a fractionated factorial design 26-2 (independent variables: the carbon source concentration; ammonium acetate concentration; ammonium citrate and iron (III) concentration; pH; temperature and incubation time). The 2nd experiment was based on optimum values for the production of PHB for each carbon source and resulted in a full factorial design 33-0 (independent variables: the carbon source concentration; temperature and incubation time). The highest PHB yield (100 mg/g cell/h) using sugar cane molasses as a carbon source was found in 10 h at 60.0 ºC and solids soluble concentrations between 14.0 and 25.0%. The glucose showed the highest PHB yield (60 mg/g cell/h) in approximately 10 h, at temperature between 23.0 - 26.0 ºC and glucose concentration between 48.0 and 62.0 g/L. The sucrose, showed the highest PHB yield (45 mg/g cell/h) in approximately 18 h, 60.0 ºC and sucrose concentration of 10.0 g/L. For the alginate productivity using the glucose was observed that the yield was more... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Aisla y selecciona rizobacterias del género Azotobacter y Bacillus con potencial aplicación como bioinoculante en el cultivo de Mangifera indica L (mango). El aislamiento se realizó a partir de muestras de rizósfera de plantaciones de mango del departamento de Piura. Se logró aislar 23 cepas del género Bacillus, de las cuales, 8 (34,8%) presentaron antagonismo antifúngico frente a Lasiodiplodia theobromae, 7 (30,4%) frente a Colletotrichum gloeosporioides y 1 (4,3 %) frente a Phytophthora sp. Asimismo 6 (26,1 %) fueron antagonistas tanto a Fusarium sp. como a Alternaria sp. En el caso de Azotobacter de las 29 cepas aisladas, 5 (17,2 %) presentaron antagonismo antifúngico frente a Lasiodiplodia teobromae y Phytophthora sp., 6 (20,7 %) frente a Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, 12 (41,4 %) frente a Fusarium sp. y 11 (37,9 %) frente a Alternaria sp. Por otro lado 7 (30,4%) de las cepas de Bacillus sp y 18 (62,1 %) de las cepas de Azotobacter sp presentaron capacidad solubilizadora de fosfatos. El 39,1% (9) de Bacillus sp y el 65,5 % (19) de Azotobacter sp lograron producir acido indol acético (AIA). En ambos géneros el 100% presentó capacidad potencial de fijación de nitrógeno. Se realizaron pruebas a nivel de almácigo con 7 cepas del género Bacillus y 5 del género Azotobacter seleccionadas para uso como potenciales bioinoculantes debido a que presentaron los mejores resultados en las pruebas anteriores. Se observó que todas las cepas usadas tuvieron efecto positivo en cuanto a la 2 reducción del tiempo de germinación, incremento en la altura de tallo y número de hojas y ausencia de síntomas de micosis. Se demuestra de esta forma que la rizósfera del cultivo de mango presenta bacterias de los géneros Azotobacter y Bacillus con potencial aplicación como bioinoculante para la mejora de la producción de mango orgánico. / Tesis

The work deals with the research of the influence of Free N bacterial preparations (contains selected strains of Azotobacter chroococcum) and Free PK (contains selected strains of Bacillus mulaginosus) and their combinations (Free N + Free PK) on the yield of apples during their intensive cultivation in the orchard. The research took place in 2018 in Agrosad Velké Bílovice on the cultivar 'Super chief', grown in medium-heavy soil and grown-up five-year-old trees. The following indicators were examined: the effect on the amount of five minerals in the fruit (nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, potassium and magnesium). Comparison with the Control showed that bacterial preparations had no effect on increasing the amount of all five substances studied in fruit. Similarly, it was at examining the amount of titratable acids in fruit, the amount of soluble solids, the amount of vitamin C in the fruit, the strength of the fruit peel, and the antioxidant capacity of the peel and pulp of the fruit. Only with the antioxidant capacity of the fruit peel, Free N exceeded the Control, but the comparison was statistically inconclusive. Further indicators were investigated: the effect of bacterial preparations on average apple weight in t/ha, also on apples below and above 70 mm, on average weight of apples in (g) and number of apples on trees. The check was always on the second, third and last place in the impact indicators. The effect of microbial agents (Free N, Free PK, and their combination) was slightly higher than Control. However, the differences were statistically inconclusive.

This diploma thesis deals with the change of production characteristics of model plants after application of vermicompost with addition of bacterial inoculum. In this work is elaborated a literature review focused on the process of vermicomposting, composting and stimulation of the root system of cultural crops using symbiotic or growth-promoting microorganisms. In addition, a practical experiment was carried out - an in-house vessel experiment with model plants was established, which was evaluated. The resulting data suggest that the most suitable variants in the formation of above-ground biomass were those containing vermicompost. The highest weight of aboveground biomass was achieved in vermicompost with the addition of Rizocore, where the production of aboveground biomass was increased 1.5 times compared to control soil.

Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) has been shown to be potentially useful for identifying microorganisms in real time. It is a selective and sensitive technique because the excitation is performed at one wavelength while the emission is monitored at longer wavelengths so that background from the excitation source can be eliminated. This specialized optical property of LIF can be applied to development of an optical sensor capable of quickly, non-invasively, and quantitatively probing complex biochemical transformations in microorganisms. Various bio-photonic optical fiber sensors based on laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) spectroscopy were developed as diagnostic tools for microorganisms. In the first phase, the enhancement of the sensitivity and selectivity of the optical sensor system focused on diagnosis of human breast cancer cell lines and Azotobacter vinelandii (an aerobic soil-dwelling organism). Autoluorescence spectra from human breast cancer cell lines and Azotobacter vinelandii corresponding to different growth environments were investigated. Then, the study has expanded to include the use of gold nanoparticles for specific DNA detection. The use of gold nanoparticales opens a door into construction of a compact, highly specific, inexpensive and userriendly optical fiber senor for specific DNA detection. An optical fiber laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) sensor based has been developed to detect single-strand (ss) DNA hybridization at the femtomolar level. Effects of various experimental parameters and configuration were investigated in order to optimize sensor performance and miniaturize sensor size.