On-line monitoring of nitrogenase activity in cyanobacteria by sensitive laser photoacoustic detection of ethylene.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology
H ZuckermannD Parker

Abstract

A new and extremely sensitive method for measuring nitrogenase activity through acetylene reduction is presented. Ethylene produced by nitrogenase-mediated reduction of acetylene is detected by using laser photoacoustics (LPA). This method possesses a detection limit making it 3 orders of magnitude more sensitive than traditional gas chromatographic analysis. Photoacoustic detection is based on the strong and unique absorption pattern of ethylene in the CO(inf2) laser wavelength region (9 to 11 (mu)m). The high sensitivity allowed on-line monitoring of nitrogenase activity in a culture of the heterocystous cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena, which was isolated from a water bloom in the Baltic Sea. This setup makes it unnecessary to take subsamples from the culture and avoids long incubations in sealed vials. The fast response of the LPA technique allows measurement of real-time dynamic changes of nitrogenase activity. The method was used to analyze in vivo saturation of nitrogenase by acetylene in N. spumigena. It is demonstrated that 20% acetylene does not saturate nitrogenase and that the degree of saturation depends on light intensity. With concentrations of acetylene as low as 2.5% it is possible to assess the degree of sat...Continue Reading

References

Jan 1, 1976·Canadian Journal of Microbiology·R J FlettN E Campbell
Jan 1, 1970·Archiv für Mikrobiologie·A HaysteadW D Stewart
Jan 1, 1968·Archiv für Mikrobiologie·W D StewartR H Burris
Mar 1, 1996·Applied and Environmental Microbiology·J P MontoyaD G Capone
Dec 1, 1974·Oecologia·Warren L WebbDuane Starr

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Citations

Aug 30, 2002·Applied and Environmental Microbiology·Marc StaalLucas J Stal
Oct 31, 2002·Applied and Environmental Microbiology·Simona M CristescuFrans J M Harren
Jul 10, 2012·Applied and Environmental Microbiology·Samuel T WilsonDavid M Karl
Oct 11, 2003·Biotechnology Advances·V P GrishkoB R Glick

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