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Biochemical indication of microbial mass changes using ATP and DNA measurement in biological treatment of thiocyanate

  • Environmental Biotechnology
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Abstract

This study was designed to monitor changes in the levels of adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) per unit of microbial mass during the autotrophic biodegradation of thiocyanate (SCN−). An artificial medium containing trace minerals and 500 mg SCN−/L was used as a substrate for bacterial growth. An SCN−-degrading bioreactor with a working volume of 6 L, equipped with temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen controls, was operated in batch mode. During the exponential phase of SCN− biodegradation, the ratios of ATP and DNA to microbial dry weight varied from 0.6 to 1.1 μg ATP/mg of volatile suspended solid (VSS), and from 3.5 to 8.8 μg DNA/mg of VSS, respectively. The ATP and DNA concentrations correlated linearly with microbial mass (r 2 > 0.9) within the exponential phase. The linear regression equations were as follows: (1) microbial mass concentration (mg/L) = 0.663 × ATP concentration (μg/L) + 11.1 and (2) microbial concentration (mg/L) = 0.081 × DNA concentration (μg/L) + 10.9. The applicable ranges were 6.8 to 47.4 μg/L for ATP concentration and 41.5 to 395 μg/L for DNA concentration, respectively.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by the BK-21 program, Advanced Environmental Biotechnology Research Center (AEBRC) (Grant no: R11-2003-006-04005-0), and the Ministry of Environment as “The Eco-technopia 21 project”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, San 31, Pohang, Gyungbuk, 790-784, South Korea

    Juntaek Lim, Seungyong Lee & Seokhwan Hwang

  2. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, 1 Oryong-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju, 500-712, South Korea

    Sang-Don Kim

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  1. Juntaek Lim
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  2. Seungyong Lee
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  3. Sang-Don Kim
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  4. Seokhwan Hwang
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Correspondence to Seokhwan Hwang.

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Lim, J., Lee, S., Kim, SD. et al. Biochemical indication of microbial mass changes using ATP and DNA measurement in biological treatment of thiocyanate. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 80, 525–530 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-008-1601-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-008-1601-4

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