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The automatic maintenance of low dissolved oxygen using a photobacterial oxygen sensor for the study of microaerobiosis
Author(s) -
Kavanagh E.,
Hill S.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
journal of applied bacteriology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 0021-8847
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2672.1990.tb01546.x
Subject(s) - oxygen , oxygen sensor , nitrogenase , clark electrode , chemistry , nitrogen fixation , electrolyte , nitrogen , electrode , organic chemistry
K avanagh , E. & H ill , S. 1990. The automatic maintenance of low dissolved oxygen using a photobacterial oxygen sensor for the study of microaerobiosis. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 69 , 539–549. Conventional galvanic and polarographic oxygen electrodes are not sensitive enough to investigate microaerobic phenomena such as nitrogen fixation. Two sensors are available for this application. They are the oxygen‐dependent changes in either the absorption spectrum of leghaemoglobin, or the light emission by photo‐bacteria. We have coupled the latter to the automatic feedback control of agitation for the maintenance of predetermined low dissolved oxygen concentrations (DOCs) in bacterial suspensions. This method is inexpensive, provides accurate control of DOC, and the photobacterium is easily propagated. We have used this equipment to determine the optimum DOC for microaerobic nitrogenase activity in the facultative anaerobe Klebsiella pneumoniae .