Open AccessSurvival of ammonia oxidising bacteria in air‐dried soil
Author(s) -
Allison S.M.,
Prosser J.I.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1991.tb04506.x
Subject(s) - desiccation , bacteria , nitrosomonas , ammonia , nitrosomonas europaea , strain (injury) , soil water , biology , nitrification , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , food science , environmental chemistry , botany , ecology , nitrogen , biochemistry , genetics , organic chemistry , anatomy
Summary Natural populations of ammonia oxidising bacteria survived in air‐dried soils for periods greater than 3 months. Recovery of a laboratory strain of Nitrosomonas europaea , grown and stored under similar conditions, was not possible after only 10 weeks. Pure cultures of natural isolates from the nitrifier enrichments possessed significant amounts of extracellular polymeric substances as capsular material, which was absent from cells of the laboratory strain, suggesting production of such material as a survival strategy during periods of desiccation stress in the soil.