Growth characteristics and hydrogen production by Rhodobacter sphaeroides using various amino acids as nitrogen sources and their combinations with carbon sources

Some amino acids (alanine asparagine glutamate, glycine proline, and tyrosine) were used as nitrogen sources in combination with carbon sources (succinate and malate) to study growth properties and H-2 production by purple non sulfur bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides strains A 10 and D 3 Both strains produced H-2 in succinate-glutamate and malate-glutamate media Succinate was a better carbon source than malate In comparison with strain D 3 strain A 10 was able to utilize proline alanine or tyrosine as nitrogen sources in succinate medium and to produce H-2 Both strains were unable to produce H-2 in the presence of asparagine or glycine as nitrogen sources N N' dicyclohexylcarbodiimide the F0F1 ATPase inhibitor led to marked inhibition of H-2 production activity of R sphaeroides The results suggest that the R sphaeroides cells growth can be achieved by the use of a large diversity of substrates but only some of them can increase the H-2 production rate (C) 2010 Professor T Nejat Veziroglu Published by Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved