Surger Maximilian J, Blank Lars M
Institute of Applied Microbiology (iAMB) Aachen Biology and Biotechnology (ABBt) RWTH Aachen University Aachen Germany.
Eng Life Sci. 2022 Apr 21;22(8):508-518. doi: 10.1002/elsc.202100144. eCollection 2022 Aug.
Microbial activity is the driving force of the carbon cycle, including the digestion of biomass in the soil, oceans, and oil deposits. This natural diversity of microbial carbon sources poses challenges for humans. Contamination monitoring can be difficult in oil tanks and similar settings. To assess microbial activity in such industrial settings, off-gas analysis can be employed by considering growth and non-growth-associated metabolic activity. In this work, we describe the monitoring of CO as a method for measuring microbial activity. We revealed that the CO signal corresponds to classical growth curves, exemplified by , , and . Deviations of the CO signal from the growth curves occurred when the yield of biomass on the substrate changed (i.e., the non-growth-associated metabolic activities). We monitored CO to track the onset of microbial contamination in an oil tank. This experimental setup was applied to determine the susceptibility of heating oil and biodiesel to microbial contamination long before the formation of problematic biofilms. In summary, the measurement of CO production by bacteria, yeasts, and molds allowed the permanent monitoring of microbial activity under oil storage conditions without invasive sampling.
微生物活动是碳循环的驱动力，包括土壤、海洋和油藏中生物质的消化。微生物碳源的这种自然多样性给人类带来了挑战。在油罐及类似环境中，污染监测可能会很困难。为了评估此类工业环境中的微生物活动，可以通过考虑与生长相关和与非生长相关的代谢活动来进行废气分析。在这项工作中，我们描述了将监测一氧化碳作为一种测量微生物活动的方法。我们发现一氧化碳信号与经典生长曲线相对应，如 、 和 所示例。当底物上的生物质产量发生变化时（即与非生长相关的代谢活动），一氧化碳信号会偏离生长曲线。我们监测一氧化碳以追踪油罐中微生物污染的开始。这种实验装置被用于在有问题的生物膜形成之前很久就确定取暖油和生物柴油对微生物污染的敏感性。总之，通过测量细菌、酵母和霉菌产生的一氧化碳，可以在不进行侵入性采样的情况下，对储油条件下的微生物活动进行长期监测。
