Interactions Between Autotrophic and Heterotrophic Strains Improve CO2 Fixing Efficiency of Non-photosynthetic Microbial Communities

Five autotrophic strains isolated from non-photosynthetic microbial communities (NPMCs), which were screened from oceans with high CO2 fixing capability, were identified as Ochrobactrum sp. WH-2, Stenotrophomonas sp. WH-11, Ochrobactrum sp. WH-13, Castellaniella sp. WH-14, and Sinomicrobium oceani WH-15. The CO2 fixation pathways of all these strains were Calvin-Benson-Bassham pathway. These strains could metabolize multifarious organic compounds, which allowed switching them to autotrophic culture after enrichment in heterotrophic culture. The central composite response surface method indicated that these strains possessed many interactive effects, which increased the CO2 fixing efficiency of a combined community composed of these strains by 56 %, when compared with that of the single strain. Furthermore, another combined community composed of these autotrophic strains and NPMC had richer interactive relationships, with CO2 fixing efficiency being 894 % higher than that of the single strain and 148 % higher than the theoretical sum of the CO2 fixing efficiency of each of its microbial components. The interaction between strictly heterotrophic bacteria in NPMC and isolated autotrophic strains played a crucial role in improving the CO2 fixing efficiency, which not only eliminated self-restraint of organic compounds generated during the growth of autotrophic bacteria but also promoted its autotrophic pathway.