Influence of a supplementary carbon source on biodegradation of pyridine by freely suspended and immobilized Pimelobacter sp.

The effect of the presence of supplementary glucose or acetate on the growth and pyridine-degrading activity of freely suspended and calcium-alginate-immobilized Pimelobacter sp. was investigated. Although the supplementary carbon sources could be degraded simultaneously with pyridine, Pimelobacter sp. exhibited a preference for pyridine over supplementary carbon sources. Thus, the pyridine-degrading activity of the freely suspended cells was not decreased significantly by the addition of either glucose (1.5-6 mM) or acetate (6-24 mM) to the pyridine (6-24 mM). In the semi-continuous immobilized cell culture, immobilized cells also exhibited a preference for pyridine over supplementary carbon sources and did not switch their substrate preference throughout the culture. Owing to a high cell concentration, the volumetric pyridine degradation rate at 24 mM pyridine in the immobilized cell culture was approximately six times higher than that in the freely suspended cell culture. Furthermore, the immobilized cells could be reused 16 times without losing their pyridine-degrading activity during the culture period tested. Taken together, the use of immobilized Pimelobacter sp. for the degradation of pyridine is quite feasible because of the preference for pyridine over supplementary carbon sources, the high volumetric pyridine degradation rate, and the reusability of immobilized cells.